A Different Path
by DarkSoul16
Summary: Naruto refused to go with Jiraiya for the three year training trip, instead he decided to join Anbu and carve his own path to power. Three years later its time for him to take off his mask and join his friends again, new enemies arise. Strong Naruto, older woman harem, side pairings. Chapters got messed up, was forced to delete then re-upload, sorry for the inconvenience.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, I guess I'll give this story writing thing another go, for a while I had wondered what would have happened if Naruto had refused to be taken away by Jiraiya for three years, and that's where the main theme for this story is coming from. It might seem a little far-fetched that a Genin would be allowed straight into Anbu, but honestly, I've seen some pretty crazy and wild ideas on this site that worked out, so I'm going to hope that this one does as well. I'm going to keep a little of the Canon Naruto's attitude, but for the most, he will be very mature, think things through, and since he has trained in Anbu, not one to leave his targets alive unless otherwise asked to. Some of you may not like that, but I'm going to take a different approach to this story from the others I have written. So far I'm not 100% on pairings, this might turn into a Harem, or it might not. Kyuubi will be there but Naruto will not have to rely on his power as much as he had to in cannon, so don't expect to see a lot of Kurama will probably later in the story. On a side note, the recent Naruto episodes have, in my opinion, been pretty bad ass. My favorite one would probably have to be where Naruto and Kurama start working together, that transformation when he deflects the Biju Bombs is bad ass. As far as the manga chapters go… not so much, for anyone who has read them I'll lightly go over them at the end of this chapter, as well as give a few recommendations like I used to. *YES I know how ANBU masks are supposed to represent animals, does it matter? NO, because this is fanfiction!**

Tsunade sighed as she looked at the ANBU sitting across from her. She couldn't understand it, but wherever this Anbu operative went; a large stack of paperwork was soon to follow.

"Are you sure you want to do this now Reaper? Can't you wait a little while longer, the Anbu forces could really use the skills you have acquired over the past few years. And your record over the past year has even surpassed Kakashi's and Itachi's, you are becoming somewhat of a legend around here." Tsunade said, even if she wouldn't admit it she was quite impressed with the growth the young man in front of her had achieved over the past 3 years.

"Hai, Hokage-sama, I've been away from my friends for too long now, and while I have earned a few new friends in Anbu my place is with the Konoha 11. Don't worry though Hokage-sama, I'll still be available for missions if you need me. I've appreciated everything you have done for me over the past 3 years; training in Anbu as well as with Ero-Sennin has really helped me change from who I once was." Reaper said gratefully.

"Alright Reaper, I'll sign the papers and send the over to Anbu HQ, you will be re-instated as a Special-Jounin until we can have someone evaluate your skills, even though I should promote you straight to Jounin you were only technically a Genin when you entered Anbu, and that was hard enough for me to explain to the council. This will at least keep them off our case for the moment." Tsunade said as she pulled out 2 sheets of paper and started to sign them.

"Err… Ba-chan why are you signing two sheets, shouldn't there only be one?" The ANBU asked, as he ran his hand through his spikey blonde hair.

"God Dammit Naruto, why can't you keep calling me Tsunade-sama, or Hokage-Sama?" Tsunade yelled as a tic mark formed on her head, "and these second papers are for Neko-san, she asked to be taken off ANBU duty whenever you quit so she could be placed on a team with you, aside from changing that young woman's view on life you, seem to have made quite the impression on her as well." She added with a smirk, enjoying the faintest of blushes that appeared on Naruto's face.

"Aww… I didn't do that much, she used to help me a lot when I was little, I just thought I would return the favor." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "But ok, I would be happy to work with Neko-san if that is what she wants', she is one of the only people who can give me a decent Kenjutsu spar anyways." Naruto said.

"Alright brat, take these papers to Anbu HQ, make sure to find Neko-san before handing the papers into Tenzo." Tsunade said as she handed the papers to Naruto, who left via Shunshin to his destination.

"His growth rate has been extraordinary over the past three years, hasn't it Tsunade-hime?" came the voice of Jiraiya as he entered the Hokage Tower through the open window. "I'm almost glad he denied my request to train him, even as one of the Legendary Sannin there would be only so much I could teach him."

"Yes, Naruto has definitely exceeded my expectations, however I am happy that you still managed to train him every so often over the course of the past few years. I really don't think there would be a lot of people who could keep up with him now." Tsunade said as Jiraiya took the seat Naruto was just in.

"He learns as quickly as his father did when I was his Sensei, its' almost scary how much Naruto resembles his old man. It won't be long before people start to recognize who he is." Jiraiya said, suddenly getting serious. "While Naruto is capable of handling himself against tough enemies, when we reveal his lineage it will put a big target on Konoha from both Iwa and to a lesser degree Kumo."

Tsunade sighed, leaning back in her chair while looking at the portrait of the Yondaime Hokage, "Indeed, however this is what Naruto wants, besides he will not be alone, Naruto has made a lot of powerful friends while in Anbu, and don't forget that everyone in the Konoha 11 are quite capable themselves. Hopefully now he will be able to get the recognition he has wanted his entire life."

"Mhm… What about the Council? Surely they will try and get Naruto into the CRA, and Naruto probably wouldn't like being forced into something like that." Jiraiya asked.

"Honestly? I'm not sure how to go around bringing that up around Naruto, we will have to talk to him about it and see what he wants to do with the information. I'm not going to force him into anything he doesn't want to do, council be damned." Tsunade replied.

"Alright well I'll leave talking about that to the brat up to you Tsunade-Hime; my opinion might be a little biased." Jiraiya said with a lecherous grin, earning a smack from Tsunade.

"Stupid pervert." She sighed as she looked out the window.

-Fifteen Minutes Later, Anbu Hq-

Naruto sighed as he entered Anbu Hq, he had greatly enjoyed his time in Anbu, and if he had to be honest with himself, deciding to leave was probably one of the hardest decisions he had made since deciding to join in the first place. Asking around for Neko, Naruto finally located her in one of the many training facilities going through her Kenjutsu Katas, and waited till she was finished to address her.

"As good as ever Yugao-chan," Naruto said as he made his presence known, "I just came from Tsunade-sama's office and have some papers you might be interested in looking at"

"What have I told you before about using my real name Reaper-san?" Yugao said in a bit of a teasing tone.

"Not to, but c'mon Yugao-chan, when have I ever been one to follow the rules?" Naruto replied with a smirk as he took his Anbu mask off, revealing his well-defined facial features. Over the past few years Naruto had pushed himself to be able to get to his current level, and his body showed it. While he wasn't a muscle bound freak like some Shinobi *cough* the Yondaime Raikage*cough*, you could tell he was muscular, even through his Anbu uniform.

"Touché…" Yugao muttered as she took the sheet of paper Naruto offered it before reading it. Naruto watched in amusement as Yugao's eyes went wide before a gentle smile crossed her face.

"That and the fact that neither of us are Anbu anymore," Naruto said with a smirk, "Although I have to ask why you wanted to leave to be on a team with me? I thought you loved being in the Anbu."

"I did, and I still do, but for the longest time me being in Anbu was so I could forget about Hayate-kun. For a while I had even hoped that doing S ranked mission after S ranked mission would eventually make me able to see him again." Yugao started as she to, took her Anbu mask off. "When Tenzo said that you would be joining Anbu I was surprised, from what I remembered at the time you had little to no skill as a Shinobi."

"Hey! I take offence to that, I knew a few things." Naruto said with a pout, making Yugao smile again.

"Two techniques do not count as a few things Naruto-kun, and while I admit I was impressed that you knew both the Rasengan and Shadow Clone Jutsu, you should have known other things as well. But you took your first year of training here very seriously, and after learning the secret of the Shadow Clone you started improving in leaps and bounds, quickly rising through the ranks of Anbu, almost to the same degree as Kakashi-sempai and Itachi-san." Yugao stated, making Naruto blush slightly at being praised by the beautiful Kunoichi.

"Yea alright, but that still doesn't answer why you want to be on a team with me Yugao-chan, I mean I'm probably gonna be put with Kakashi-sensei for a while again until I can get my full promotion. You sure you can put up with him without trying to kill him?" Naruto asked.

"I think I could manage Naruto-kun. And to answer your question, the day you asked me to start teaching you Kenjutsu is probably what impacted this decision most. If not for that day we would never have become friends and I would most likely still be trying to get myself killed doing S ranked Missions. You made me realise that I still had a lot to live for, and that Hayate-kun wouldn't want me to be how I was." Yugao said as she gained a semi far-away look in her eyes.

"You give me too much credit Yugao-chan, what kind of friend would I be if I couldn't help you. And besides you were there for me a lot when I was little so it should be me who is thanking you." Naruto said with a smile. "We should probably go and see Tenzo now so we have enough time to get all of our stuff cleaned out of our lockers and go back to see Tsunade Ba-chan."

"You are never going to stop calling her that, are you Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked with smirk.

"Nah, especially to her face, it's a good way to test my reaction time whenever she hurls something at my face." He replied with a laugh as they both left the training room on their way to see the Anbu Commander.

-Tsunade's Office, same time-

"Shizune, please get me Naruto's graduating class as well Gai's team and their sensei's" Tsunade said into the intercom, hearing Shizune give a swift reply. Tsunade couldn't help but feel a little nervous for what she was about to reveal to Naruto's friends; and if she had to be honest she didn't know how a few of them would take it.

Fifteen minutes later Teams Eight, Nine, and Ten, as well as Sakura, all entered Tsunade's office, curious looks on their faces as to why all of them had been summoned at the same time.

"You requested our presence, Tsunade-Sama?" A tall bearded man asked.

"Yes Asuma-san, I called you all here regarding Naruto's disappearance about 3 years ago." Tsunade said, immediately catching Kakashi's attention, even though he knew where Naruto was, he was hoping that he would be able to go on missions with his student once again; as well as the rest of the Konoha 11.

"It's been three years already Hokage-sama, time sure flies." Kakashi said in a bored tone, making the other Jounin sensei's look at him with surprise.

"Your student disappears for three years and that's all you can say when we finally get word on what happened to him?" A woman with beautiful red eyes said in surprise.

"I can't help but agree with Kurenai-san, although something leads me to believe that you know where your student has been, care to elaborate Kakashi-san?" Asuma asked, making everyone look at the silver haired Jounin.

"So what if I did, I was never at liberty to talk about what happened to Naruto-kun. And before any of you say anything, he swore me into secrecy, but I can assure you Asuma-san, Kurenai-san; that my student is fine and has recently been carving his own path through our Shinobi ranks." Kakashi said, before closing his book and pocketing it.

"Kakashi-san is right, on both accounts that Naruto is both ok, and has been making quite the name for him-self in the past year." Tsunade said as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Tsunade-sensei, why would Naruto just disappear without telling any of us where he was going, that doesn't seem like something Naruto would do." A girl with short pink hair said.

"I have to agree with Sakura, Tsunade-sama; it seems highly unlikely that someone like Naruto would disappear without at least telling his friends he was alright, especially since his disappearance was right after the failed Sasuke-retrieval mission." Kurenai said, looking back and forth between Kakashi and the busty Hokage.

"Both you and Sakura are right, Kurenai-san, the Naruto you knew would never do something like that. But the Naruto you once knew is no longer alive." Tsunade said with a small smile, shocking everyone present.

"No longer alive…. You can't mean?" Sakura started only to be cut off by Tsunade.

"No Sakura, Naruto is not dead, but he is no longer who you once knew. The past three years has changed him drastically. He is no longer the blonde idiot who runs around using Kage Bunshin to solve all his issues. After the mission, Jiraiya came by to ask Naruto to become his apprentice." Tsunade said.

"You can't be serious! Jiraiya of the Sannin, one of the most powerful shinobi alive today asked the class deadlast to become his apprentice!" A boy with a black jacket standing beside a large white dog said.

"You should be careful as to how you talk about Naruto now, Kiba-san, like I said he is no longer the boy you guys once knew, and he would take offence to what you just said." Tsunade said as she glared at the boy, making him shrink slightly.

"Well… that would make sense, with a teacher like Jiraiya I'm sure Naruto has become a lot stronger since we last saw him." A boy wearing a big baggy green coat said.

"Indeed he would have, if he had accepted the perverts' proposal to train him." Tsunade said, and smirked as everyone present looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"Naruto refused to be trained by one of the Sannin! Why would he do something like that?" Asuma asked, it's not an everyday occurrence to be offered training by one of the Legendary Sannin.

"Indeed he did, the reason why is that Jiraiya would have had to take him away from the village for three years to train him, and Naruto didn't like the idea of being away from his home for so long. But that doesn't mean Naruto has not received training from that stupid pervert, he just never had to leave the village to obtain it." Tsunade said.

"So… Naruto has been in the village for the past three years, then how come none of us have ever seen him?" Sakura asked, looking between Kakashi and her current sensei, hoping at least one of them could give her an answer.

"The reason for that, Sakura, will be explained as soon as Naruto gets here, which should be fairly soon actually." Tsunade said. And she was right, a few minutes later someone knocked on her door and it opened to reveal two Anbu, one of which Kurenai recognised, but the other made her eyes widen and had to use all of her training to not be put on guard by this man in front of her. He was a tall man who radiated power and respect, but that's not what scared her, the man's attire is what put her on guard. The standard grey Anbu equipment had been dyed black, and wear and tear was evident on his armor, sword scratches, holes, and burn marks. Overtop of the armor was a long, ragged black cloak that had a large hood which covered a lot of the Anbu's face, but not enough for Kurenai to not be able to recognize the mask.

"Reaper…" Kurenai whispered, immediately earning both Gai's and Asuma's attention as they to, were busy studying the Anbu in front of them.

"W-what's so special about that mask?" Sakura asked Kurenai, as she tried hard to supress her fear of the man who just entered the room.

"Each Anbu mask is special to those who wear them, but there are select few who get masks custom made. The Reaper mask is one of, if not THE, rarest Anbu masks to be given out." Kakashi explained, a hint of pride evident in his voice. Of course he had known of Naruto's growth in Anbu over the past three years, but to be given the reaper mask… That was something that not even he could have done, and he was regarded as one of the best Anbu in Konoha's history.

"Kakashi-senpai is right." The Neko masked Anbu said. "The reaper mask is one of the highest honors you can get in Anbu, not even Kakashi was eligible for the mask after his term in Anbu, and he was regarded as one of the best to have ever graced the Anbu ranks, even our current commander still calls him Senpai." Neko said in a teasing tone.

"Even though I wish he didn't, but may I ask why you are here Neko-san?" Kakashi asked.

"Everything will be explained shortly, senpai, but continuing on, the Reaper mask has a few conditions that need to be met before it can be given out. For starters, a perfect record for missions, including S ranked, aside from that, a certain number of both A and S ranked Missions must be completed. Lastly, and probably the hardest for us Anbu because we don't get put in Bingo Books often, is an S Rank with a flee on sight rank given in every Bingo Book across the Elemental Nations, including the small ones." Neko finished, making the rookies go wide eyed as they looked at the person who, judging by higher, couldn't have been much older than them.

"I really wish you wouldn't have brought them here, Tsunade-sama. You should have asked, or at least told me in advance." Reaper said.

"I'm sorry Reaper, I just thought this would have been best." The Hokage replied.

" Fine... But I want something in return for this." Reaper said, shocking the Genin and Jounin at the bold declaration.

"If I may, Anbu-san, but you are in no position to demand anything from the Hokage." Asuma said, earning nods from a few in the room.

"You are in no position to tell me what I may or may not do, Asuma-san. My relation with Tsunade-sama is mine and mine alone, you would do well to remember that." Reaper said in a cold tone.

"You may have the reaper mask, but you don't scare me." Asuma said as he reached for his trench knives, but froze as he felt a Kunai held against his back as Reaper appeared behind him, shocking those present with his speed.

"You should…" Reaper whispered in his ear, before disappearing and re-appearing beside Neko, who shook her heads at his actions.

"That's enough, both of you!" Tsunade yelled, before sitting back down and burying her face in her hands.

"As interesting at this is Hokage-Sama, what does this have to do with Naruto?" Kurenai asked.

"Nothing, like Tsunade-sama has probably already told you, the Naruto you all knew died a long time ago." Reaper said, gaining everyone's attention yet again.

"How would you know Anbu-san?" A girl in a traditional style Chinese dress with her hair in dual buns said.

"Because I killed him…" Reaper replied, shocking everyone before he and Neko removed their masks.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura stammered. "How… why?"

"What do you mean why? Please elaborate Sakura-san." Naruto replied, shocking the young girl at how he addressed her. He had always addressed her as Sakura-chan before, and she would never admit it to anyone, but it hurt that he didn't call her that.

"Why didn't you tell any of us what you were doing? We all thought you were dead… I thought we were a team?" Sakura asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"You finally decided to care Sakura-san?" Naruto scoffed, "While I do admit we were a team, we weren't a very good one. As you have all said in the past I was the dead last, Sakura has book knowledge but couldn't put it to practice in the field. And all Sasuke cared about was getting revenge on his clan, he didn't give two fucks about us, and he proved that when he shoved a Chidori through my chest."

As that conversation was going on, Kurenai had brought Yugao off to the side as well; she knew how much her friend loved to be in Anbu and was surprised to see her here with Naruto.

"What did you pull me aside for Kurenai-chan?" Yugao asked her friend.

"What do you mean what? I thought you loved Anbu, why are you here with Naruto who is apparently leaving Anbu?" Kurenai asked, making Yugao sigh, as she had not expected her friend to be there when she resigned.

"I made arrangements with Tsunade-sama a while ago, asking to be placed on a team with Naruto-kun when he decided to resign from Anbu." She explained, Kurenai's eyes slightly widened when she heard Yugao call him "kun" but decided not to ask about it.

"That still doesn't help me understand why Yugao-chan, Anko and I have been asking you to leave Anbu for years and you never listened to us. And now just like nothing Naruto makes you want to leave, what happened over the past three years?" Kurenai asked, curious as to why Naruto was suddenly able to get through to her friend. Mention of Naruto's name managed to snap a young indigo haired girl out of the trance she had been in after learning Naruto was in fact the Reaper masked Anbu, and decided to listen in on the older women's conversation.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, Kurenai-chan, but Naruto-kun was able to change how I viewed life. After Hayate-kuns death I didn't know what to do, so I began doing S ranked mission after S ranked mission, trying to keep my mind of things, or worse, get killed. A few months after Naruto had joined Anbu though he had sought me out for Kenjutsu training; at first I was a little sceptical about training him because from what I could remember about him he was never very talented. At first I said no, but he kept pestering me until I finally caved in, he took the training in like a sponge and is now easily one of the best Kenjutsu users in Konoha, only slightly behind myself. After a few missions together Naruto noticed that I was troubled by something, and being the caring person that he is confronted me on it." She explained, gaining a semi far-away look in her eyes that didn't go unnoticed by either Kurenai or Hinata, who by this time was a little jealous of the strange woman being able to get so close to Naruto too quickly.

"What happened then? I know how hard it is for you to talk about what happened with Hayate." Kurenai asked, while at the same time silently thanking Naruto for being the one who changed her friend.

"Naruto has a calming aura around him that makes it feel like you can pretty much trust him with anything, in the end I caved and told him about what happened. That night was the first time since Hayate's death that I broke down and cried, but he was there for me the entire time to comfort me." Yugao said with a smile as she looked at Naruto being surrounded by his friends.

"I'm happy for you, Yugao-chan; it sounds as if you were finally able to move on from Hayate. It sounds like you and Naruto are really close." Kurenai said, and smirked slightly as she saw a slight blush cross the Kenjutsu specialist's face.

"It's nothing like that Kurenai-chan, we are just friends. Although just between us girls, you should see him under that Anbu armor." Yugao replied, blushing at the memories of walking in on Naruto without his gear on, much to Kurenai's amusement.

Back with Naruto he was doing his best to answer all the questions being asked by his old friends, as well as avoiding Ino who was getting just a little too close for his comfort. Looking around he noticed Yugao and Kurenai talking which brought a smile to his face, remembering all the stories he had been told from Yugao.

"As much as I'm enjoying this attention guys we need to finish up here, we can all catch up later on or whenever I have my skills assessment." Naruto said, hoping to finish this as quickly as possible.

"Skills assessment? What's that?" Ino asked.

"Naruto is going to be given an assessment on his skills to be able to properly gauge his rank, even though he has become an S ranked Shinobi in the Bingo books, the council wants a demonstration of his skills. The only person in this room who has actually seen Naruto fight seriously would be Yugao-san, the other Anbu who is with Naruto. Naruto's current rank will be Special Jounin until I can arrange someone to give Naruto an assessment." Tsunade explained, but sighed as she saw a grin spread across Asuma's face, as well as Kiba's.

"Hokage-sama, would you mind if I gave Naruto the rest?" Asuma asked, making Kakashi, Yugao, and Tsunade narrow their eyes at the bearded Jounin, Naruto's show earlier must have really pissed him off.

"I would also like to test Naruto's skills Hokage-sama" Kiba declared.

"Asuma I would be alright with because he has a lot of experience as a Jounin, but Kiba I'm not sure about, you have not been Jounin for very long." Tsunade said.

"Its fine Ba-chan, they can both fight against me if they want. I must have really hurt your pride earlier Asuma-san if you're willing to go through with this." Naruto explained.

"Like I said before brat, you don't scare me." Asuma replied, "just tell me when and where."

"We will have the assessment tomorrow morning, at training ground 7; you are all welcome to come watch." Tsunade said.

"Now that that's out of the way, I want to ask all of you aside from Yugao-chan and Kakashi-san to leave so we can talk to the Hokage and Shizune-neesan in private. We can meet up sometime later and talk about what's happened over the past three years." Naruto said, making Tsunade nod, already guessing about what Naruto wanted to talk about.

"Why do we have to leave though? We should be able to stay if it has to do with you." Sakura asked.

"Because this matter doesn't concern any of you yet, I'm sure you will figure it out in the near future. Now aside from the people Naruto asked to stay, the rest of you are dismissed." Tsunade said.

Naruto sighed after everyone had left, and took a seat on one of the chairs across from Tsunade.

"That could have gone better; it was a bad idea to bring them all here." Naruto said, earning a nod from Yugao and Kakashi.

"I know, I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I kind of expected Kiba to act like that, but definitely not Asuma, his attitude towards you surprised me." Tsunade replied as she reached under her desk and pulled out a bottle of sake.

"Yea well that's none of my concern, if they still have issues with me after tomorrow it's their own fucking fault. Now, I'm sure you know why I wanted to talk to you all in private right?" Naruto said, before running through a few handsigns and put up a silencing seal around the office.

"I'm assuming its' about your parents, and to a latter extent you inheritance right?" Tsunade asked, making Naruto nod his head.

"Yea it is, for the most part. I'm not too worried about when you want to tell everyone about my parents, I'm more worried about the kind of attention the village will get as a whole from Iwa and to an extent anyone who I'm close to." Naruto said, stealing a quick glance at Yugao that didn't go unseen by the Hokage or Kakashi. "While I'm confident in my own skills about taking on large groups of enemies, not everyone has the same amount of chakra that I do, and that would put them at a large disadvantage as I can pretty much assure you that if Iwa was to send people after me it would be a small group at least."

"You make a good point Naruto-kun, Iwa would use any means necessary to get to you, including taking your friends as hostages in exchange for yourself. Not to mention the lingering threat of the Akatsuki, Jiraiya said they have been a little more mobile lately." Kakashi said.

"We will deal with the Akatsuki at a later time, I think our main threat right now will be Iwa, and to a lesser extent Kumo and Kiri. But there are a few other things that I want to talk to you about Naruto, which will include your status as a clan head." Tsunade said.

"If you are going to talk to me about the CRA Hokage-sama, then I am already well aware of what that means for me. I still have a couple years to decide if I want to be put under the CRA, so I will have to get back to you on that." Naruto said, not really surprising Tsunade as it was Anbu protocol to keep up to date with Konoha's laws.

"Alright, well that is pretty much everything I wanted to talk to you about Naruto-kun, I have a scroll for you that contains both yours and Yugao-sans Jounin vests, as well as the key to your parents estate." Tsunade said as she pulled out a scroll and handed it to Naruto.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, I will see you tomorrow at training ground 7." Naruto replied before doing a few more hand seals and releasing the silencing seal before he and Yugao left the office.

"He has grown a lot, hasn't he Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked, making the Hokage smile and nod her head at the Elite Jounin.

-With Naruto and Yugao-

"So Naruto-kun, do you even know where you are going?" Yugao asked, making the blonde scowl at her.

"Of course I do, I looked up where my parents estate was a few months ago." Naruto explained, "What about you? Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"Well… I could probably crash at Kurenai-Chan's or Anko-Chan's place for a while." Yugao said, she didn't really have a place to stay as she no longer had the keys to the apartment Hayate and her had shared before he died.

"I see, how about you stay with me for a while?" Naruto asked, slightly shocking Yugao, before she got a teasing look on her face.

"I don't know Naruto, I don't think you could handle me just yet." She said

"I wouldn't worry about that Yugao-chan, I'm a stamina freak who knows Kage Bunshin, I'm sure I could take care of _All _your needs." Naruto said seductively, making the ex Anbu captain blush slightly. "But seriously Yugao-chan, we used to sleep in the same tent when we were on missions, I'm sure there are tons of rooms in my parent's house, or you could even sleep in one of the smaller houses around the compound."

Yugao thought about his offer, she really had nowhere to go, and while she was sure Kurenai and Anko would take her in, it wouldn't be very comfortable for her, as they both only had one bedroom apartments. And she had to admit Naruto had a valid point about their previous sleeping arrangements when they were on missions together.

"Alright Naruto-kun, if you're sure you're ok with this then I'll gladly accept your offer, thank you." Yugao said with a smile, which in turn caused Naruto to smile.

Things were starting to look up for both of them.

**Alright well that's the first chapter of this fic, no action really; a lot of talking and character development/introductions, not that anyone needed introductions. Next chapter will be the skills assessment, and then I might start a small original arc before Gaara gets captured, to show off a bit of Naruto's skill as well as probably build up his relationship with a couple people. After thinking about it I might have a small harem of older women, Yugao is a for sure, possibly Kurenai and maybe Anko/Hana. Might just wind up being Naru/Yugao, or no pairings at all… nah I couldn't do that.**

**Recommendations**

**Video Games**

**-Dark Souls 2 (biased because I loved both games)**

**-Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls (Console version confirmed for August)**

**-Titanfall**

**Anime**

**-The Irregular at Magic High**

**-Black Bullet**

**-Blade And Soul**

**-Sword Art Online (new season coming to Crunchyroll starting July**** )**

**Fics**

**-Full Moon- Narutoenthusiast Naru/Yugao**

**-Drifting- AlphaDelta1001- probably my favorite fic on this whole site- harem**

**-Yellow and Red Makes-Digitize27 Naru/Tayuya**

**-Path of the Hunternin- Narutoenthusiast Naru/Hana**

**-Lone Wolf- NarutoEnthusiast- Naru/Kurenai**

**-A true Monster- Lord of the Land of Fire- Naruto/Rosario+Vampire crossover**


	2. Chapter 2

**-Rant No Jutsu-**

**Well… I definitely didn't expect this story to get that much feedback so quickly, within 10 hours I already have 30 likes and favs with 10 reviews. After my last update for the Easily Thrown Aside story I didn't really get to much feedback so I didn't feel that motivated to write it. But this time it was different, I had posted the story at about 1:30am where I live and by the time I had left to get a drink and do a few things I already have a few reviews it was really cool. I changed the story description because I went to re-read it and to me it kind of looked like something that an Elementary School kid wrote, like I said it was late, so I changed it to something I felt was better. Lots of people are asking about the Harem and skills Naruto will have, right now Naruto does not know the Hiraishin but he is working on mastering it. For the girls I'm not sure if I will be adding any foreign women to the harem, I want to limit this one to 3 girls max, and I'm thinking that the third girl will either be Anko, or Shizune, cause if we are being honest, Shizune is pretty hot, even if she doesn't have the same sex appeal as say… Anko and Mei. I had a review telling me to change the mask to that of an animal, I know Anbu masks are supposed to represent animals and at first I had actually used Fox, but c'mon, that's pretty much every Anbu Naruto story out there using the fox mask, and it felt cheesy and kind of cliché for me to use it; I wanted mine to be different so I'm sorry if you don't like it. Another review also said I should write longer chapters, for those who might be a returning reader from my "Fourths Legacy" Fic, you will know that the first chapter in this story is probably the longest chapter I've ever written. I'll try to keep a steady word count for my chapters but I'm not the kind of author who can pump out 10k word chapters every few days, especially since I'm going back on shift this week. This is not an Anbu Naruto story, it is an Ex-Anbu Naruto, some people seem to have been a little confused, and when I had Naruto tell Tsunade about still being available for missions I meant Anbu ones, cause as far as I remember a lot of Anbu missions are more difficult than regular Jounin ones, so I meant Naruto would still be able to take the harder missions reserved for Anbu. Last thing I want to say, everyone who reads this should check out VI Seconds "The Most epic Naruto Rap", I hate rap but this song is awesome. *Update, changed the fight quite a bit, made it longer, little more character interaction, and no stupid ending to the fight, enjoy!**

With nothing for either of them to grab, Naruto hand Yugao quickly made their way over to the clan district to find the Namikaze Compound, which was located between the Hyuuga and Abram clan compounds( Not sure if they are close in the actual show or not but just run with it). The first thing Naruto noticed when they reached the gate was the intricate seal design that covered it, taking a few moments to study the seal Naruto nodded before molding his chakra and putting his hands on the gate.

"What are you doing Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked, as a Kenjutsu specialist she had never really studied any Fuinjutsu other than basic sealing scrolls and exploding tags.

"My father and mother were both masters of Fuinjutsu, and judging by this seal he wanted this place to be the safest place in Konoha. It's a high level chakra seal that will only open if someone who has the same blood as either my father or mother applies their chakra to it. After we get inside I'll tweak it so that whoever I add to the seal will be able to enter." Naruto explained.

"Good explanation brat, it looks like my time teaching you Fuinjutsu didn't go to waste after all." A voice from behind them said. They turned to see both Kakashi and a man with long white hair approaching them.

"Whatever Ero-Sennin, I'm going to assume that both you and Kakashi-sensei can enter right? You being my father's sensei and Kakashi his student would only make sense." Naruto said, earning a nod from the Toad Sage.

"It's been a while since I've seen you Naruto, I wanted to see just how much my student has grown, as well as see my sensei's house again." Kakashi said, never taking his eye off his little orange book.

"Alright, if either of you break anything you owe me, c'mon Yugao-chan lets go." Naruto said, making the other two aware of her presence, but they decided to shrug it off for now.

Entering the compound, Naruto and Yugao couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful everything was. Large oak trees lined the walls, while inside a large assortment of flowers lined the marble walkways.

"It's beautiful, but how has everything been so well kept over the past 16 years? Surely no one has been in here since my parents died." Naruto asked.

"The Uzumaki clan was well known for their knowledge of seals, add your mothers knowledge to your fathers skill for creating and mastering Fuinjutsu and they were able to come up with seals to keep the outside well kept. Seals that work like sprinklers to water the flowers, as well as a few that released low level Futon Jutsus to keep the grass well cut. If I wouldn't have already known about this I would be just about as amazed as you are right now." Jiraiya explained. "Aside from those, there are a lot of security seals spread out around the grounds, Minato had a lot of enemies and when he found out Kushina was pregnant with you he made this place as safe as possible.

"I see… That's good then, I will have to take a look at my father's notes and figure out what every seal does, maybe add a few more now that the Akatsuki is also an issue." Naruto said, earning a nod from the Toad Sage. "We should get everything inside and unpacked before having to leave to meet up with everyone Yugao-chan."

"So… Yugao-san is going to be living with you Naruto-kun? Are you guys like…?" Kakashi said, leaving the question in the air as he made little movements with his hands, reminding the blonde of what Konohamaru did to Sakura before the Chunnin exams.

"No, Kakashi-sensei we aren't Yugao-chan is just staying with me because she has nowhere else to go." Naruto said with a sigh before entering the house, followed shortly by a semi blushing Yugao.

"Right right…" Kakashi said as he followed them in.

"Well… at least the outside was well kept." Naruto said as he looked around his new house. He was hoping his father had a similar setup inside as he did outside, but judging by the amount of dust and cobwebs it had been too much to ask for. Naruto made 10 shadow clones and sent two of them upstairs with his and Yugao's bags, while telling the rest of them to start cleaning as he, Yugao, Kakashi, and Jiraiya started to explore the house. Even with all the dust Naruto had to admit it was a beautiful house, but having lived in a shitty apartment since he was little just about anything else would feel nice. The main floor was home to the living room, dining room and kitchen, while the upstairs was mainly bedrooms and bathrooms. Downstairs was home to what Naruto was interested in the most, the Library; which held all of his father's notes on sealing as well as the Hiraishin Jutsu. Looking around Naruto found a variety of different sealing methods, as well as some of the Uzumaki clan scrolls for Jutsus and Kenjutsu Katas.

"This place is as impressive as I remember it; some of these scrolls contain long lost Sealing methods and Jutsus, as well as the Uzumaki Kenjutsu style which was considered one of the most formidable forms of Kenjutsu." Jiraiya stated as he and Kakashi looked through some of the scrolls.

"I'll be sure to take a look at them later. If you want, Yugao-chan, you can look through the Kenjutsu scrolls later as well. For now I want to finish exploring the grounds." Naruto said as he started making his way back upstairs.

"Hey Naruto-kun, where did your clones but my stuff? I want to change out of my Anbu uniform for now." Yugao asked as they made their way back to the main entrance of the house.

"They put your bags upstairs, last door on the left Yugao-chan." Naruto replied, making the Kenjutsu specialist nod and disappear upstairs.

"You two seem pretty close brat, you sure there is nothing else going on here?" Jiraiya asked with a lecherous grin.

"Shut it you pervert, like I said earlier, we're just friends." Naruto replied as he glared at the old pervert, who just shrugged it off and walked outside.

"Whatever brat, I'm going to go do some research, I'll see you guys in the morning for your skills assessment." Jiraiya said as he Shunshined out of the compound.

"I think I'm going to take off as well Naruto, I've already seen the rest of the grounds before, but I will catch up with you guys later when you meet everyone else alright?" Kakashi said, earning a nod from the blonde as he decided to use the gate to get out. A few minutes later Yugao came out of the house dressed as a normal Jounin, and Naruto would be lying if he said he didn't find the Kunoichi to be very attractive.

"Where did Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-senpai go Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked as she walked up to Naruto, who was currently trying his best not to stare at her.

"The pervert said he was going to go do some research, which means peaking on the women's bathhouse, and Kakashi left to do… Kakashi things I guess, probably trying to come up with a few more lame ass excuses as to why he is late all the time." Naruto replied, earning a light giggle from Yugao.

"Alright well let's finish looking around, and then we can go get something to eat before meeting up with everyone." Naruto said as they started walking around the Compound a little more. Back behind the house they found the training grounds, and a few ponds and steams to practice Suiton Jutsus.

"It's gorgeous back here." Yugao said as she took everything in.

"Yea it's definitely something else; my old man sure knew how to make the most of the space given to him." Naruto replied. "I'm going to go change, and then we can go grab something to eat before meeting up with everyone else alright?"

A few minutes later Naruto appeared wearing Standard Anbu pants and combat boots, with Kunai holsters on each leg; and a black tank top over a mesh armor shirt. Yugao couldn't deny that Naruto was attractive; he had grown a lot over the past few years, and now easily stood as tall as Kakashi. Having lost all of his baby fat over three years of rigorous training, he had a very defined figure, and you were able to easily see his muscles underneath his mesh armor. He had let his hair grow out, and now had the same jaw length bangs that framed his face, just like his father. Yugao was sure that Naruto would start having issues with fan-girls, especially after his status as the Namikaze Clan leader was announced. The thought of Naruto having fan girls made Yugao feel weird inside, she couldn't exactly pinpoint what the feeling was just yet, but she would have to talk to someone about it eventually.

"Ready to go, Yugao-chan?" Naruto asked as he made his way over to her.

"I'm ready, Naruto-kun. Where did you want to go?" She asked as they started walking towards the gate.

"Mhm, how about that Sushi bar you always talked about on missions?" Naruto asked as they stepped out, but came face to face with someone he didn't want to deal with just yet. Hinata Hyuuga. Over the past three years he had matured greatly, and now understood why the girl was always blushing around him, and while he would admit that she was very beautiful now, he couldn't return the feelings that she had for him.

"N-Naruto-kun, w-why are you c-coming out of t-the Yondaime's c-compound?" Hinata asked, making Naruto curse under his breath, they should have just left by Shunshin.

"I'm sorry Hinata, but I'm not allowed to talk about it, it's the reason why Tsunade-sama asked you all to leave earlier. You will all figure it out eventually, but for now you don't need to know, sorry." Naruto replied before he and Yugao quickly left via Shunshin, leaving Hinata alone in the street, thinking that maybe her father would know why.

-With Naruto and Yugao-

"That was close Naruto-kun, good save." Yugao said with a smirk as they appeared near the center of Konoha.

"It was my own mistake, we should have just left by Shunshin, and I can only assume that Hinata is going to ask around as to why we would be there now." Naruto sighed out.

"She was bound to find out eventually, from what I remember your father and Hiashi seemed to be fairly close friends." Yugao said as they made their way towards the Sushi bar, earning a surprised look from Naruto.

"That's surprising, from what I remember about the Hyuuga clan head was that he had a bigger stick shoved up his ass then Neji did before I beat it out of him." Naruto replied.

"Well… Hiashi-sama wasn't always like that; he first started changing after your father and mother died. Then he completely fell apart after the death of his wife during her birth of their second child." Yugao explained, "I can almost guarantee that the Hyuuga will be a powerful ally for you once you inaugurated as the Namikaze clan head."

"I see, it would be good to get to know him then, especially if I was to ever become Hokage." Naruto replied, "Can I ask you a question Yugao-chan?"

"Of course Naruto-kun."

"With my mother being a part of the Uzumaki Clan, and my father being from the Namikaze, I can't decide what name I want to take. While I would like to have my father's last name, I feel it would be unfair to my mother, and vice versa." Naruto said, Yugao could see where Naruto was coming from, with him being the last of two famous clans, he didn't want to be the reason that either one of them died out.

"Maybe try talking to Tsunade-Sama about taking both last names, its rare but in your case it might be allowed, then it would be a joint Uzumaki-Namikaze clan." Yugao suggested, earning a nod and smile from Naruto.

"Thanks Yugao-chan, I think I'll do that." Naruto replied.

After a quick meal at the sushi restaurant, Naruto and Yugao went to join the rest of Naruto's friends at one of the shinobi bars located around Konoha and spent the rest of the night telling stories about some of their missions as well as how they met.

-Next Morning-

Yugao woke early the next morning to the sound of clashing steel, knowing it was probably just Naruto training she decided to get up and gauge where his Kenjutsu skills stood in comparison to her own. Yugao would admit that in both Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, Naruto was easily more powerful than her, but when it came to Kenjutsu she was still slightly better than him; although she knew that with a little more time, Naruto would surpass even her. Getting dressed in her regular Jounin gear Yugao made her way downstairs and into the back yard, where sure enough Naruto was in a large scale battle with his clones. Even with her trained eyes she could hardly keep up with Naruto's speed, so a lot of what she saw was just a blur, followed by a puff of smoke, followed by another blur as Naruto massacred his clones left and right. With only four clones remaining Naruto decided to stop his relentless assault and set up with his Ninjato in a defensive position. A few moments passed before two of the clones charged Naruto, one aiming to sweep Naruto's legs out from underneath him while the other came from above attempting to slam him into the ground. Naruto flipped over the leg sweep before stabbing his Ninjato into the ground and using the hilt to propel himself into a skyward kick that connected with the above clone's chin, making him dispel. After landing on the ground Naruto took out a Kunai and engaged the second clone in a quick Taijutsu battle, which ended when Naruto managed to stab the clone with his kunai. After watching the first two clones get beat in close combat, the remaining two clones decided to try a long ranged battle. Going through the required handsigns both clones yelled out their respected Jutsu.

** "Katon: Grande Fireball Jutsu!"** Both clones yelled in unison, as two large fireballs sped towards Naruto from either side, before he too went through a series of hand seals.

**"Suiton: Water Encampment Wall!" ** The original Naruto shouted, before a large dome of water surrounded him protecting him from the dual fireball attacks.

**"Hidden Mist Jutsu." **Naruto whispered, before a thick mist rolled in over the battlefield which Naruto disappeared in. A few moments later Yugao heard two popping sounds and the mist started to dissipate, showing an unscathed Naruto holding his Ninjato.

"Fucking clones, I didn't expect them to fire two Grande Fireballs at me." Naruto mumbled as he made his way over to Yugao. "Enjoy the show Yugao-chan?"

"Quite the performance Naruto-kun, I was a little surprised when the clones started using Jutsus though, you usually only use them in either Taijutsu or Kenjutsu spars." Yugao said.

"Yea well I can't always control what my clones do; now I know how you and Kakashi-sensei must have felt trying to train me, although I never hurled two high ranking Jutsus at either of you." Naruto said, making Yugao smile slightly.

"Well at least they didn't actually hit you right?" Yugao said with a giggle as they made their way inside.

"Whatever Yugao-chan, I'm going to make some breakfast before going to my skills assessment, you want anything?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod as his answer Naruto went to the kitchen to fix them both something to eat.

"So are you ready for the skills assessment Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked when Naruto returned with their breakfast.

"Of course Yugao-chan, while both Asuma and Kiba are strong in their own rights, I have faced tougher opponents and did just fine." Naruto replied, earning a nod from Yugao, she knew how strong her friend was, but she still worried about him.

"Even still Naruto, it would be good not to underestimate Asuma-san, he wasn't made one of the Daimyo's guardians for nothing." Yugao warned.

"I know Yugao-chan, I'll be careful." Naruto said, "I hope Baa-chan will keep us together, after working with you for so long it would be really weird for me to work with anyone else other then maybe Kakashi-sensei."

"I know what you mean Naruto-kun, the only reason I left Anbu was to be on the same team as you. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will keep her end of our deal." Yugao replied, earning a nod from Naruto before they continued their breakfast in relative silence, just enjoying each-others company.

-Few Hours Later, Training Ground 7-

Naruto and Yugao were surprised to see that they weren't the first to arrive at the training ground; the only people who had yet to show up were Kiba and Asuma. As Naruto and Yugao went over to the group Naruto couldn't help but shudder when he saw the looks that Ino and to a lesser extent Hinata were giving him, making Yugao smirk at him.

"I never would have thought that Konoha's reaper, one of the most feared shinobi to come out of Konoha since the Yondaime, would be scared of a blonde haired fan girl." Yugao teased, earning a glare from Naruto.

"You have no idea how fucking persistent she is Yugao-chan. I'd rather face A and S ranked criminals then have to deal with a persistent fangirl, Hinata isn't as bad because she is too shy to actually try something with me; but I'm not so sure about Ino." Naruto replied, as he put as much space as he could between the platinum blonde and himself.

"How was your night brat? Have a good time alone with Yugao-san in your house?" Jiraiya asked with a lecherous grin, shocking those present who didn't know Yugao was living with Naruto-kun.

"Can it you pervert, before I get Tsunade to knock some sense into you." Naruto replied, ignoring the looks he was getting from those present.

"You're living with Naruto Yugao-chan?" Kurenai asked as she walked up to her friend.

"Well… I didn't really have any other place to stay, and I didn't want to bother you and Anko-chan because you both only have one bedroom apartments and it wouldn't have been very comfortable with me. After explaining that to Naruto yesterday he offered to let me stay at his new house for a while." Yugao explained, earning nod from Kurenai.

"Uh, Ba-chan, is Iruka-sensei going to be coming?" Naruto asked, earning a surprised look from Tsunade who had forgot about inviting the academy teacher.

"Shit, sorry Naruto I forgot, I can-"Tsunade started, but was cut off by a wave from Naruto.

"Don't worry about it baa-chan, I'll get him." Naruto said as he made a clone and had it go look for Iruka.

"So are you ready for this brat?" Tsunade asked as she looked at her surrogate little brother.

"Yugao-chan asked me the same thing earlier." Naruto replied with a laugh as he stole a glance at his purple haired friend, "and I'll tell you the same thing I told her, of course I am. I just hope they can give me a decent fight."

"Confident are we?" Tsunade asked with a smirk, as even she didn't know the full extent of Naruto's strength.

"I didn't become Konoha's Reaper for no reason; I earned my mask baa-chan." Naruto replied with a smirk of his own, making Tsunade nod.

"I hope you can back that up Naruto-kun, Asuma-san is no slouch when it comes to close combat, same goes for Kiba." Kakashi said.

"I know, there are only a few people in this village who I wouldn't want to fight close quarters, and they are all already here, I'm not too worried about Asuma-san or Kiba-san, but don't worry Kakashi-sensei, Yugao-chan already made me promise to be careful." Naruto replied, earning a nod from Kakashi.

"Naruto-kun is that really you?" Said a voice from behind everyone, making Naruto turn with a smile on his face.

"Iruka-sensei, I'm glad you were able to make it." Naruto said as he walked over and embraced the scarred Chunnin.

"I was worried when everyone had said you disappeared Naruto-kun, I thought you might have been dead, where have you been these past three years?" Iruka asked as they broke apart.

"Well… For the week after I was in the hospital after I failed to bring Sasuke back I had a lot of time to think, during that time Ero-sennin came and told me he wanted to take me out of the village to train." Naruto said, making Iruka go wide eyed.

"Jiraiya-sama asked you to become his apprentice?" Iruka asked.

"I did yea, but the damn brat refused to be taken from the village, he was worried that if he was out of the village he wouldn't be able to protect his friends in case the village was attacked." Jiraiya said, catching everyone's attention as they didn't know the exact reason why Naruto didn't leave with Jiraiya.

"That's right; I didn't want to leave to village so I refused. The day I was released I went and talked to baa-chan and asked to be put into the Anbu program, and after some negotiating with the council I was allowed to join." Naruto explained.

"So you have been in Anbu for the past three years then?" Iruka asked, he was shocked that Naruto had been allowed to join Anbu. As much as he hated to admit it because of how he considered Naruto to be a little brother to him but the Naruto he remembered wouldn't have had the skills to be placed into Anbu.

"I have, and while I'm still alive I have to tell you that the Naruto you once knew no longer exists. I'm no longer the class deadlast who throws Kage Bunshin around just because I have the chakra capacities to do so." Naruto said, shocking Iruka again as he wondered just how much Naruto had changed over the past three years.

"I know that its' usually forbidden knowledge but now that you are no longer Anbu I don't think it matters, what mask did you have?" Iruka asked, he knew the story behind Anbu about their masks being special to those who wore them. Naruto smirked before a small seal appeared on his forehead and a poof of smoke went up, blocking Naruto's face from view.

"No way…" Iruka whispered after the smoke had cleared, and there stood Naruto, the Reaper mask covering his face.

"Pretty bad ass huh?" Naruto asked with a smirk as the mask disappeared as well as the small seal on his forehead.

"I'd say, I never thought I'd have taught Konoha's most feared Anbu operative since Itachi Uchiha." Iruka said with a proud smile. Naruto was about to reply when he suddenly felt two chakra signatures suddenly approaching.

"They are finally here." Naruto said to Tsunade, who nodded in response. Iruka was about to ask what was going on when Asuma and Kiba appeared in the middle of the training ground.

"I was beginning to think neither of you were actually going to show up." Naruto said in a bored tone, earning a growl from Kiba as Asuma's eyes narrowed.

"Like I'd ever run from you, doesn't matter what you have been doing over the past three years you are still the class deadlast in my books." Kiba said, as a large white dog barked in agreement.

"Whatever Kiba, whatever issue you have with me is none of my fucking business, but be warned, I'm not the same kid who took abuse from you all those years ago." Naruto said as he narrowed his eyes and stood across from the two Jounin.

"Alright this is going to be a fight between the two Jounin Asuma Sarutobi, Kiba Inzuka, and Special Jounin Naruto Uzumaki. It will be a two on one fight so we can gauge Special Jounin Naruto Uzumaki's skills in combat." Tsunade said as everyone quieted down and started paying attention to the training field.

"Do you think Naruto-kun will be ok Sakura?" Ino asked as she looked over at her long-time friend and former rival.

"I'm not sure Ino, sure the fact that Naruto has been in Anbu for the past three years in impressive, but he is fighting against two of Konoha's best close quarters Jounin." Sakura replied, not taking her eyes off her former teammate.

"What do you think Neji-kun? Will Naruto be ok or was he all talk?" Tenten asked her teammate.

"While I find it hard to believe Naruto would be able to fight both Kiba and Asuma-san at the same time, he wasn't called Konoha's most unpredictable ninja for no reason. I think Naruto will surprise all of us." Neji replied.

"Are all fighters ready? Start!" Tsunade yelled, and instantly Naruto started going through a set of hand seals that both Kakashi and Sakura recognized.

"No way…" Sakura said, just before Naruto finished his jutsu.

"**Hidden Mist Jutsu!"** Naruto Shouted, as just like this morning a dense mist started to envelope the training ground.

"Kiba, stay close to me, I'm going to try and make the mist go away." Asuma said before going through his own handsigns.

**"Futon: Great Wind Breakthrough!" **Asuma yelled, but was shocked when his attack didn't blow the mist away.

"Nice try, Asuma-san, as a fellow Futon user I can tell you it will take a wind attack a lot stronger than that to make my mist go away." Came Naruto's voice from inside the mist.

"Where are you Naruto! Come out and fight like a man!" Kiba shouted, before freezing up when he felt a kunai against his back.

"_Behind you…_" Naruto whispered, before Kiba turned around and swung his fist, hoping to hit Naruto. Instead he hit something big and fairly soft, before hearing a pained yelp from his partner.

"Akamaru! Fuck Naruto I'll make you pay for that!" He shouted.

-On the sidelines-

The only ones who could see what was going on inside the mist were Neji and Hinata, but due to how much of Naruto's chakra was circulating in the mist even they found it hard to see.

"Can any of you see what is happening?" Sakura asked.

"It looks like Naruto used his speed inside the mist to get behind Kiba before saying something and disappearing again, Kiba turned and tried to hit Naruto but took Akamaru out instead." Neji explained.

"Pretty sneaky tactic, without Akamaru Kiba won't be able to use his Fang over Fang technique to its full capability unless Akamaru is able to get back up by the end of the fight. But Naruto will need more than that to win this fight." Kurenai said glancing over at Yugao who didn't look concerned at all.

"Don't worry Kurenai-Chan; Naruto is just getting warmed up. I don't think he will even need to bring out his big guns to finish this fight." Yugao said as she examined the mist, before noticing it was starting to clear.

-Back in the Fight-

As the mist cleared Asuma noticed that he and Kiba had been separated, and now stood on either side of Naruto.

"Kiba, go at him together, lets end this quick!" Asuma yelled as he took his trench knives out and rushed Naruto, matching Kiba who rushed in with Kunai.

Hoping the coordinated attack would push the fight in their advantage, Asuma and Kiba upped the pressure against the blonde, throwing a whirlwind of strikes and combos towards Naruto, who seemed unfazed by their coordinated attack and simply dodged all their strikes.

"Why aren't you fighting back Naruto, to scared?" Kiba taunted, but something about the way Naruto was smirking at him made the Inzuka shudder slightly.

"One word for you…" Naruto started, making Asuma's eyes widen at the sudden influx in chakra coming from the blonde and kawarimi'd with a log on the opposite side of the training field.

"Boom." Naruto ended with a smirk before enveloping Kiba in a large explosion, sending the boy flying across the training field and into a tree, where he slumped over unconscious.

"I'd suggest getting him to the hospital." Naruto said as he looked over at the shocked spectators.

-On the sidelines-

"Kiba-kun!" Kurenai yelled as she rushed over to her old student, although impressed with how Naruto was handling himself so far, she felt as though he could have gone a little easier on her student.

"Holy shit!" Ino shouted, "What the hell was that!"

"Naruto Kawarimi'd with an Exploding Clone shortly before the mist cleared; he placed himself between both Kiba and Asuma in hopes that they would engage him together. It was a trap and Naruto led them into it perfectly." Yugao explained, having seen Naruto use this tactic before on missions.

"How do you know that's what he did? Are you sure it wasn't just luck?" Ino asked, but then shrunk at the glare Yugao gave her.

"The reason I know this is because I've seen Naruto use those two Jutsu in combination before, the only difference this time is the amount of Chakra he used. Normally when Naruto traps his foes like this, all that's left is bits and pieces." Yugao explained, making everyone shiver, realizing that this new Naruto was not someone to fuck with.

-Back in the fight-

"So Asuma-san, do you still want to fight?" Naruto asked as he walked back into the middle of the training field, "Surely you have seen enough."

"Don't get cocky brat, Kiba got tricked because he was impatient and couldn't notice the spike in chakra your clone gave off just before exploding, I won't fall for the same trick twice." Asuma said as he started pumping more Futon Chakra into his trench knives, making them sharper and longer.

"Very well then Asuma; make sure you don't get caught again, next time I won't hold back." Naruto said, before doing a few handsigns.

"**Katon: Fire Dragon Jutsu!**" Naruto shouted, before shooting a large dragon made of fire towards Asuma, who quickly got out of the way. Despite his current situation, Asuma was impressed that the blonde knew not only Futon, but Katon as well.

"Your good brat, I'll give you that but you're still too young to be able to beat me." Asuma said.

"**Katon: Ash Burning Pile!**" He shouted as a large cloud of gunpowder and ash made its way over to Naruto, before starting another set of handsigns.

"**Katon: Grande Fire Ball Jutsu**" He shouted as a large fireball shot towards the cloud of ash, making it ignite causing a large explosion to envelope the area Naruto was in.

-Sidelines-

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura yelled as she was about to jump in and save her last remaining teammate, before a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Looking back she saw the hand belonged to Yugao.

"Let me go! Naruto needs help." Sakura yelled as she tried to get out of Yugao's grasp, "he's your friend! Don't you even care?"

"I do, and its' because I'm his friend that I am confident that Naruto will be ok. Like we have said before, do not underestimate Naruto-kun." Yugao said as she looked at the spot that Naruto had been.

"That was one of Asuma-sensei's strongest attacks, are you sure Naruto-kun will be ok?" Ino asked, but didn't get an answer as everyone was busy watching the spot Naruto had been.

-Fight-

"You should call the fight Tsunade-sama, I don't think he will be getting up after that." Asuma said.

"That was a good attack Asuma-san, but it will take more than that to bring me down." Naruto said, earning Asuma's attention

"How-" Asuma started but as the smoke cleared he was surprised to see Naruto surrounded by a dome of water.

"**Suiton: Suijinheki.**" Naruto said as the wall of water dissipated around him.

"Three affinities, that's pretty impressive Naruto, I can see that you came a long way in the past three years. I've still got a lot of juice left in the tank though." Asuma said as he brought out his trench knives, pumping chakra through them, causing them to gain a faint blue hue.

"I wouldn't have expected anything else Asuma'san, but I wasn't made Konoha's reaper for nothing." Naruto started before going through a set of hand signs.

"**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu.**" Naruto said, before a large dragon made of water appeared out of the lake behind Naruto and raced towards Asuma, who was forced to use a Kawarimi to get out of the way, before rushing towards Naruto to engage with his trench knives. A seal appeared on Naruto's hand, causing a slight poof of smoke that dissipated to reveal a Ninjato. Pumping a bit of wind chakra through the blade Naruto disappeared to meet Asuma, sending a flurry of stabs and slashes at the bearded Jounin, making him go on the defensive.

-Sidelines-

"Kenjutsu to huh… Man Naruto's become extremely troublesome over the past few years." Shikamaru said lazily, earning a few nods from around the group.

"It would seem that Naruto has surpassed all of us, it makes me wonder what he might have been like had someone taught him seriously earlier in his life." Shino said.

"Naruto has always been a prodigy." Yugao said, earning the groups attention. "He may not have been like Sasuke or Neji, who were both born with Natural talent, I would put him in the same category as Lee-san, a prodigy of hard work. Naruto trained day and night at Anbu HQ to get to the level he is at now, and according to him he still has tons of room to improve."

"I have to agree with Yugao-chan." Kurenai stated," but even at that pace, Naruto has grown exponentially over the past three years, it would take more than just being a prodigy of hard work for him to grow from the level he was at, to the one he is currently on."

"That is true, but Naruto is a special case in regards to another area as well." Yugao replied, earning questioning looks from a few of the younger Shinobi.

"How so Yugao-san?" Sakura asked.

"The Kage-Bunshin is a special kind of clone, one that can send information back to the original once being dispelled, the only drawback is how much chakra it takes to make one as it splits the users chakra in half evenly for each clone made." Yugao started, "Naruto, however, has the largest chakra reserves I've ever seen, and can easily make up to around one hundred clones in one go. Now think about it, if each clone sends information back to the original, using one hundred clones a day, would equal up to about one hundred days of training."

"That's incredible…" Sakura whispered as she looked at her teammate as he was still engaged in close quarters combat with Asuma.

"Naruto used his clones to train Kenjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Ninjutsu, while he focused a lot on physical training. Naruto may not look like it but he is also probably one of the physically strongest Shinobi in Konoha, behind Gai-san and Jiraiya-sama." Yugao said, "He is a very deadly close ranged fighter, with the amount of strength and speed he has not a lot of enemies can keep up with him if he gets in close. I'm only able to win our Kenjutsu spars based on years of experience and reflexes, but even then Naruto will surpass me soon enough."

"Yosh! Naruto-kuns flames of youth are burning brighter than ever! I must increase my training by one hundred times so I can match him!" Lee said.

"That's my student Lee!" Gai said.

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

They yelled before hugging, causing an coastal sunset image to appear behind them.

"What the fuck is that!" Yugao said, appalled and scared at what she was seeing.

"It's best not to think about it Yugao-san." Tenten said with a sweatdrop.

-Fight-

"It seems that Gai-sensei and Lee are the same as ever." Naruto mused to himself before ducking under a punch Asuma had sent at his face.

"It would be best not to take your eyes off me Naruto, it wouldn't do well for you to go back to Yugao-san missing an eye." Asuma said confidently.

"Same could be said for you Asuma-san, don't get to cocky." Naruto replied, before stabbing his sword into the ground to catch both of Asuma's arms. Asuma tried to fight Naruto's grip but found it near impossible to get out, before feeling a strong pain in his gut as Naruto had planted his foot directly into Asuma's stomach, making him cough up a little blood. Naruto, using Asuma's pain as a momentary distraction, released his grip on one of Asuma's hands, before using his now free hand to hit a pressure point in Asuma's arm, rendering it useless as it fell limply at his side. Naruto picked up his sword with his free hand, before placing the tip against Asuma's jugular, causing to bearded Jounin to snap back to reality as he felt cold steel against his neck.

"Give up, Asuma-san. I would prefer it if you do not force my hand any further." Naruto said coldly, sending a shiver down Asuma's spine.

"I-I give up." Asuma said, as Naruto retracted his blade before sealing it away again.

"Good choice, I'd recommend seeing Baa-chan or Shizune-chan to get your arm looked at." Naruto said, earning a nod from Asuma. "That was fun for me, if you ever want to have a friendly spar feel free to find me."

"Very impressive brat." Tsunade said as she came up behind the two, followed closely by the others.

"Yea, that was amazing Naruto-kun." Sakura said with a smile, making Naruto scratch his head sheepishly.

"Hehe… It wasn't that impressive Sakura. If I didn't have a chakra conducting blade like Asuma the fight could have gone downhill for me." Naruto replied.

"What did you do to his arm Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked as she gazed at Asuma's limp arm.

"Huh? Oh… I hit a pressure point to make it go limp… you should probably take a look at it to make sure it goes back to normal Shizune-chan." Naruto said with a smile, making her blush slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by Tsunade and Yugao.

"Hai, Naruto-kun." She replied before attending to Asuma.

"It takes a lot of knowledge about human anatomy to be able to do something like that in the middle of combat Naruto-san." Shino said, earning a nod from Sakura.

"Yea… well I can't do medical Jutsu because of how my chakra is, but I thought it might have helped to learn about human anatomy, being able to disable an opponent in the middle of combat is a good skill to have if you need to extract… information." Naruto said, causing a few of them to shiver at the implication he just gave.

"Anyways brat, I think that it's safe to say you have earned this." Tsunade said as she handed Naruto a green Jounin vest. "Elite Jounin Uzumaki Naruto!" _Make me and your parents' proud brat_

**Annnnnd Cut. I know I said I was planning on starting the little filler arc I want to have before starting the Shippuden timeline off with Gaara being captured but the fight in this chapter took a little longer then I had originally planned it, so you can expect the next one or two chapters to be filler, then onto a bit of cannon. Like I said earlier the amount of feedback I have been getting on this story is completely insane, when I started writing this chapter this morning it had around 30 favorites and follows, and by the time I finished that number had jumped to 74 favorites, and 101 follows with 16 reviews. Completely insane, and that's what gave me the motivation to get this second chapter out so quick. Now, I want to try and get another chapter out tomorrow, and maybe one again on Tuesday right before I got back on shift, but we will have to see… hoping for at least one more chapter anyways. So far I have created a list of Jutsus that Naruto will be able to use, and as I find/think of more I will add them, obviously in this chapter Naruto didn't need to reveal some of his more powerful Jutsus because he was only fighting against Kiba and Asuma. And yes, Naruto is powerful, but not god like, he would have troubles against Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, so foes like Kisame and Itachi will still be hard for Naruto to overcome. As all of you probably noticed, Naruto has no romantic feelings for Hinata right now, that could change in the future, I'm not sure, but so far I'm thinking this is going to be a harem with a main Naru/Yugao pairing, with Kurenai and most likely Shizune, sorry Anko fans, but who knows, I might change my mind, that's just what I'm leaning towards right now.**

Fixed a mistake where I had Tsunade listed as being weaker then Kakashi, that was an issue on my end.


	3. Chapter 3

**-Rant No Jutsu-**

**I'm really enjoying the reviews and feedback I'm getting, but alas there are people who do not like my story, which is fine, everyone has their own tastes and I'm sorry for anyone who doesn't like it but have to say thanks to those that left reviews actually telling me why, instead of just saying it sucked and I should stop writing. Some of you are asking me about my Naruto banishment fic, and I'm not too sure when I'm going to be updating it again, a lack of feedback left me feeling unmotivated to continue it right now so it's on the backburner for the foreseeable future. A few people gave reviews and sent messages about the lack of Naruto's interaction with his friends, as well as not showing their reactions to the new Naruto very well, I plan to have more character interaction in this chapter, I wanted to have more interaction last chapter but the fight took a lot of that chapter up, which was also unplanned, and personally I felt like it was a good place to end the chapter, especially because the first chapter was mainly all talking. This chapter will focus on more character development, and progression into Naruto's first mission away from the village. Naruto was fairly OOC last chapter, and while I plan on having Naruto be more mature and think things through in this story, he will share some characteristics with his cannon counterpart, especially with people that are close to him. Now, onto the Harem, I've decided that its' for sure going to be Kurenai/Shizune/Yugao with Yugao as the main pairing, I might tweak Shizunes character a little for her to better fit in the story. I'm currently looking for someone who might be interested in creating a cover image for me, it would be of Naruto fully dressed in his black Anbu Armor complete with cloak and reaper mask, and having very little talent for drawing myself I would greatly appreciate it if anyone would be willing to help me out. On a side note, don't expect updates to be this quick all the time, with my last two stories being failures in my opinion I had people ask if I was actually going to keep with this story, and after how much feedback this story has received after only one day I would hate to disappoint anyone, so I'm trying to pump out as many chapters as I can before I go back to work on Wednesday so you all have something to enjoy for a few days. Hopefully this chapter will be able to satisfy everyone even though there probably won't be a lot of action.**

"Gah… what the fuck happened to me?" Kiba asked as he slowly regained consciousness. Looking around he noticed white walls and ceilings, and could hear low beeping off to his right. _I must be in the hospital… that means Naruto won huh… he didn't survive Anbu for 3 years for no reason I guess..._

"Ah you're awake Kiba-san that's good, after your fight with Naruto-kun we thought it would take a lot longer for you to wake up." Shizune said as she entered the room, followed by the rest of Team Kurenai (Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto are Team Kakashi so why not right?)

"How are you feeling Kiba-kun?" Kurenai asked.

"I feel like shit Kurenai-sensei, what the hell happened?" Kiba asked, "The last thing I remember is fighting Naruto, then it just went black and I woke up here."

"After making you accidentally take Akamaru out, Naruto positioned himself between you and Asuma before releasing his Hidden mist Jutsu; when Asuma saw this he suggested that you and him both attack Naruto at the same time. What you two didn't know was that Naruto used a Kawarimi to switch himself with an exploding clone and lured you both into a trap. Asuma noticed this when the chakra inside the clone suddenly spiked and managed to substitute himself with a log, you… however were not so lucky and Naruto caught you in the blast, blowing you across the training field." Kurenai explained, making Kiba nod.

"I can't believe he got so strong… he never had any talent back in the academy." Kiba said, suddenly starting to feel a little bad about the way he acted to his old friend. "I fucked up pretty bad huh?"

"No one expected Naruto to be so strong, I'm sure he would forgive you if you talked to him." Kurenai said, trying to cheer her old student up.

"Who won the whole fight? Did Naruto beat Asuma as well?" Kiba asked.

"After we took you to the hospital, Asuma tried to use his strongest Jutsu on Naruto in hopes that he would be able to take him out. Naruto surprised everyone again by showing that he also had a strong Suiton affinity when he used Suiton: Water Encampment Wall to protect himself from Asuma's attack. Naruto and Asuma engaged Naruto with his trench knives while Naruto used a special Ninjato that was able to conduct his chakra, he was eventually able to render one of Asuma's arms useless and forced him to give up." Shizune explained as she checked on Kiba's condition. "You should be fine to go home in a few hours Kiba-san."

"Alright, thanks Shizune-san." Kiba replied, earning a nod from said medic, "So what do you guys think of Naruto's new strength?"

"Naruto-san trained hard in the Anbu for the past three years to be strong enough to protect the village, I find it logical to believe that Naruto-san has yet to show his true capabilities." Shino stated.

"Y-yea, and an f-few days a-ago I saw him c-coming out of the Y-Yondaime's old compound. W-When I asked my f-father about it, he w-wouldn't tell me a-anything about i-it." Hinata added, making Kurenai's eyes widen slightly. She had noticed Naruto's uncanny appearance to the Yondaime Hokage and had wondered before if they were somehow related, but decided to put that information away for later.

"That's an interesting discovery Hinata-chan; hopefully Hokage-sama will be able to shed some light on everything eventually." Kurenai stated. "And I have to agree with you as well Shino-kun, after Asuma passed out from Chakra exhaustion, Yugao explained to us that Naruto was just playing with you and Asuma the entire time. While Asuma is classified as an Elite Jounin, Naruto explained that Asuma didn't take him seriously and wasted most of his chakra early trying to overpower him. Naruto has very large chakra reserves and by the end of the fight he wasn't even tired."

"I see… I guess the rest of us will just have to work harder to catch up to him now." Kiba said, earning nods from his teammates and a smile from his sensei.

-With Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 11-

After Naruto's fight with Asuma and Kiba, everyone other than Kurenai's team had decided to stick together and relax for the rest of the day and had invited Naruto and Yugao to accompany them. It took a little persuasion from Yugao but eventually Naruto caved and decided to spend the rest of the day with his friends who had decided to relax at one of the lakes close to Konoha.

"So, it looks like Anbu has really paid off for you Naruto-kun, you really surprised us all earlier today." Sakura said as she sat down beside her old teammate.

"Yea it did… but there are still things I could improve at, other Jutsus that I intend to master; things I want to create." Naruto replied as he looked out over the lake.

_How much have you changed Naruto-kun? Just when I thought I might have been catching up to you this happens… _Sakura thought as she pictured Naruto and Sasuke walking far in front of her, and she couldn't help but frown.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Naruto asked as he noticed his teammate's sudden mood change.

"When Tsunade had called us all together yesterday and explained that you were ok and had just been away training over the past three years, I couldn't help but feel that we could finally work together again as equals. As much as I hate to admit it you and Sasuke were always ahead of me when we were a part of Team Seven, I thought that maybe after three years I had finally caught up to you, but what you showed us all earlier today makes me realise that you and Sasuke are still far ahead of me." She explained sadly.

"I see… In truth Sakura, I meant what I said the other day about us not being a very good team in the past." Naruto started, making Sakura lower her head even more. "However, that doesn't mean that we can't make things better, you have been receiving training from one of the legendary Sannin over the past three years, as much as I enjoy annoying Tsunade, the amount of skill she holds is not something to be overlooked. During my first couple years at Anbu I was assigned as one of Tsunade's guards, during those days I was able to witness what some of the training she was putting you through. Although you know the secret to Tsunade's super strength, most of the training she gave you was that of a medic-nin, and even though I was trained to work in the shadows as an Anbu, my chakra reserves allow me to be a powerhouse. We are probably going to be put on the same team again with both Kakashi-sensei and Yugao-chan; I'd rather have a skilled medic then another Ninjutsu or Kenjutsu specialist."

"Thanks Naruto-kun, I appreciate that." Sakura replied with a smile. "We have both changed a lot over the past three years it seems, but don't think I'm going to stop trying to catch up to you."

"I wouldn't dream of it Sakura, if you ever want a sparring partner I'd be happy to help, and if you ever become interested in learning Kenjutsu I'm sure I could ask Yugao-chan to help you out." Naruto replied, earning a thankful nod from Sakura.

"Speaking of Yugao-san, how did the two of you meet?" Sakura asked, earning the attention of a few of the others.

"Yea, you guys never really explained how the two of you had met the other night." Tenten asked as she, Ino, Neji, Shikimaru, Choji, and Lee all came over to where Naruto and Sakura were.

"You guys are really interested in that huh?" Naruto said, receiving nods from his friends he sighed before continuing, "Yugao-chan and I have actually known each other since before we started the academy. Due to events surrounding my birth, I wasn't well liked by the villagers; and after I started living by myself they would start harassing me, sometimes going as far as attempting to beat me. After the first few attempts Sandaime-Jiji started to assign Anbu guards to watch over me. Yugao saved my skin a few times when I was younger, so when I joined Anbu I searched her out in hopes that I would be able to properly thank her. What I didn't know at that time was that Yugao-chan's fiancé had been killed during the Oto/Suna invasion and she had spent a lot of her time taking numerous S ranked missions which are considered to be suicide missions."

"Why would Yugao-san take such dangerous missions?" Tenten asked.

"Her fiancé was Hayate Gekko, our first proctor during the third part of the exams. He was killed by the Suna Jounin Baki after he was discovered trailing the traitor Kabuto. The death of Hayate was extremely hard on Yugao-chan, not even her friends could convince her to stop taking missions." Naruto explained.

"Then how did you manage to get through to her? It must have taken a long time right?" Ino asked, as the self-proclaimed gossip queen of Konoha, she was always looking for interesting stories.

"It did, I hardly ever saw Yugao-chan for the first few months when I was in Anbu, whenever I did she was either leaving or just returning from a mission and was too busy to stop and talk. I eventually managed to get her alone in one of the training grounds and managed to give her my thanks. A few weeks after that I started to learn Kenjutsu, and was told by a few people in Anbu that Yugao-chan was the resident Kenjutsu specialist in Konoha so I began searching for her again in hopes that she would start training me. It took a little persistence but eventually she caved in and agreed to help train me. By this time I knew about her past with Hayate and was hoping that giving her an apprentice would keep her from going on suicide missions, which it did for a while." Naruto said.

"You said for a while, I'm assuming she eventually started doing them again right?" Neji asked, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Yes she did, I remember asking her not to but she just kept brushing me off, saying it was none of my business. She continued to train me in Kenjutsu but our sessions became few and far between until it got to the point where I would be lucky to get one lesson a week. A few weeks later Yugao got seriously injured on a mission and had to be hospitalized for a couple weeks. During those two weeks I visited her quite frequently, asking her to tell me why she kept trying to get herself killed, but just like the first time she kept brushing me off." Naruto explained.

"It's obvious that you cared for her, I can't see why she would have just kept brushing you off." Sakura said.

"Like Naruto-kun explained, at that time I didn't think it was any of his business." Came Yugao's voice from behind everyone as she looked at Naruto with a small smile. "Naruto was very persistent in trying to get me to open up, during that time I didn't know that he already knew Hayate and was just trying to get me to open up to him by myself, but I guess I was taking too long because he eventually snapped on me, I had never seen Naruto loose his cool like that in all the years I had known him, it was a real eye opener for me."

"Yea… I know what you mean; it's strange when Naruto-kun gets upset." Sakura said, remembering the verbal lashing Naruto had given her the day before

"It is, that day Naruto was able to remind me that I had other things to live for besides Hayate-kun, I had friends like Kurenai-chan, and Anko-chan who would miss me, as well as people in Anbu, including Naruto. After that day I started taking less and less S ranked missions, while taking more time to train Naruto in Kenjutsu, we eventually went from being just work partners to friends, and he even managed to get me to open up about Hayate-kuns death. He doesn't give himself much credit for everything that happened but the truth is that Naruto-kun changed my life, had he not come by that day to ask me for training I can safely say I would either be dead by now or still taking Suicide missions as much as I could." Yugao said,

"Awww… Its' almost romantic." Ino said with hearts in her eyes, earning a slight giggle from Yugao and a tick mark on Naruto's forehead.

"There was nothing romantic about watching someone close to me trying to kill herself Ino-san, I'm just glad that I was able to help change Yugao-chan's outlook on life." Naruto said, supressing the small amount of red that threatened to tint his cheeks.

"Right… that's why you're living together now huh?" Ino said, and then smirked as she saw Naruto stiffen slightly.

"Whatever Ino, Yugao has no place to go right now and I've recently come into some property that has a lot of available space." Naruto said quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation before the gossip queen could get any more information from either of them.

Yugao could only smile at Naruto's interaction with his old friends, she was happy for her friend being able to interact normally with his old friends.

_ I hope you enjoy these few moments of peace you're having Naruto-kun, with everything that is going to come to light soon you're probably going to gain a lot more enemies._

-With The Jounin Senseis a Few Hours Later-

"Naruto-kun's Flames of Youth sure have brightened over the past few years haven't they my eternal rival?" Gai said as the Jounins all sat together at one of the shinobi bars located around Konoha.

"You know what Gai, for once I agree with you. Naruto-kun came a long way since joining Anbu; He has grown in ways I would have never imagined." Kakashi replied, earning a nod from Gai.

"I don't think that Naruto was ever a bad student, Kakashi-san." Iruka said, earning the attention of those present. "During Naruto's academy days a lot of the teachers there tried to sabotage his work and keep him back. If Naruto would have received proper training he deserved then I think Naruto could have easily been rookie of the year."

"Yes, with proper training Naruto would have been quite the Genin. If I had realised Naruto's hidden potential earlier I might have been able to help push him in the right direction… but it took his teammate shoving an A ranked assassination Jutsu through his chest for him to change." Kakashi said in shame

"It sucks about what happened with Sasuke, but Naruto turned out ok in the end. Maybe what happened with Sasuke was a blessing in disguise." Iruka said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean Iruka-san? You are probably the closest thing Naruto has to a real family, how would having a role ripped through his chest be a blessing in disguise" Kakashi asked with narrowed eyes.

"Don't get me wrong Kakashi-san, Naruto is like my little brother, but had it not been for what happened with Sasuke, I don't think Naruto would have ever considered entering Anbu. Even if Naruto had been taken out of the village by Jiraiya, there would only be so much Jiraiya would have been able to train him. Naruto joining Anbu gave him the ability to train not only his physical strength, but he learned to control all three of his Elemental Affinities and start on his fourth. Aside from that, Naruto has become quite the Kenjutsu user as well; Yugao said that he is close to even surpassing her." Iruka explained proudly. "He surpassed me a long time ago, and will probably pass the rest of you before you know it."

"He has come a long way since the time he fought Kiba-kun in the Chunnin exam finals a few years ago. I never would have thought that someone like Naruto would be able to take Yugao-chan out of her depression." Kurenai said, remembering that he friend and the young blonde were quite close.

"Naruto has always had the special ability to make friends out of the most unlikely people. He was the one who convinced even Tsunade-sama to return to the village, he would make a great negotiator and ambassador if Konoha ever needed one." Iruka said.

_Yugao-chan speaks quite highly of young Naruto-kun, I wonder how she actually feels about him; I hope she has finally decided to move on… If only I could find someone to be with,_ Kurenai thought.

-Next Morning with Naruto and Yugao, Hokage's office-

"We received a request from Wave Country earlier this morning, apparently an ambassador from Kumo is on the way to speak with the Daimyo of Wave Country about trade negotiations and the Daimyo requested that a team from Konoha be sent to act as bodyguards during the negotiations." Tsunade said, gaining Naruto's attention.

"So you think because I have previous experience with the people of wave country that sending me would also be good for our relations with Wave?" Naruto asked, making Tsunade nod.

"After your disappearance into Anbu three years ago, Wave Country has been demanding to know what happened to you, and our trade treaty has become a little shaky lately. Letting wave know that you are fine will hopefully bolster our relationship." Tsunade explained, earning a nod from Naruto.

"I can understand why you would want that, as Wave is one of the largest trading centers in all of the Elemental Nations, but why send me? What about Kakashi-sensei or Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know if you realize this Naruto, but you have been considered a hero in Wave ever since you're team's first mission there, a hero that as far as wave knows is dead. Sending Kakashi-san or Sakura-chan wouldn't be as effective as sending their countries hero." Tsunade replied.

"Alright baa-chan, I understand the reason why you want to send me now. Who will the rest of my team be? I'm assuming that Yugao-chan will be coming with me as she left Anbu to work with me specifically." Naruto said, earning a nod from the female Hokage.

"Yugao-san will be joining you, along with Kurenai and her old team." Tsunade replied, moments before said team entered her office.

"Team Kurenai reporting for our mission Tsunade-sama." Kurenai said as they entered the room before sending Naruto a friendly smile.

"I was just going over the mission with Naruto-kun Kurenai-san; he will be leading this mission alongside both Yugao and your team." Tsunade said, and received a nod of approval from the red eyed Jounin.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Kurenai replied with a slight bow before turning to Naruto, "My team is already packed and ready for a long term mission Naruto-san, we are able to leave as soon as you are ready."

"Alright Kurenai-san, please meet me at the main gate, I just have to stop and get Yugao-chan then we will be ready to leave. We will be taking a fast pace to Wave Country, even though I've been there in the past the city we are going to has no doubt changed a lot over the past few years and I would like a few days to re-learn the layout of the town. I'm not expecting Kumo to try anything funny but I like to know the basic layout of a city in case something happens." Naruto said, before using a Shunshin to leave the office, followed by Team Kurenai who went to wait at the gate.

-Main gate 5 minutes later-

"Hey Kurenai-sensei, have you ever been to Wave Country before?" Kiba asked as they waited for Naruto to arrive with Yugao.

"A long time ago during a mission when I was still a Genin, but I haven't been there since Gato was overthrown a few years ago." Kurenai replied, receiving a nod from Kiba.

"According to T-Tsunade-sama, wave u-underwent a drastic c-change right a-after Team S-seven finished t-that mission w-when we were s-still Genin." Hinata said.

"Gato was a money hungry tyrant, it would make sense that with him out of the way the people of Wave Country would be able to rebuild and eventually thrive. They have managed to become one of the largest trading ports in the Elemental Nations because of the bridge they were able to finish, also given the location of Wave, they are able to receive shipments from countries that can't normally send goods over land." Shino explained.

"That's a good observation Shino-kun; I have to agree with you on both accounts." Kurenai said with a smile, before sensing Naruto and Yugao fast approaching.

"Alright you guys, it's a few day journey to wave and I would like to get there with at least a day to scout the area, I'm sure wave has changed greatly since I was there with Kakashi-sensei during the construction of the bridge." Naruto said after appearing with Yugao. "I'm not expecting any confrontations while on the way to wave, but stay close together and don't let your guard down."

-Later that Night, Near the Border of the Land of Fire-

Having made it through the day without any problems, Naruto decided to set up camp in a meadow near the border of Fire Country, judging by the pace they had set throughout the day, he figured they would make it to Wave early tomorrow night, giving them enough time to rest before taking a day to scout the village.

"You seem troubled Naruto-kun, is everything alright?" Yugao asked as she landed beside the young blonde.

"Not really, just thinking about the mission. We should arrive in wave early tomorrow night, but that's not my issue. I've led dangerous missions before, but I had Anbu backup in case things went south. While I trust both you and Kurenai-san I don't want to get Kiba, Hinata, and Shino into a situation they might not be able to handle. With my track record for missions going south I can't help but be cautious about all this." Naruto explained. "Konoha and Kumo aren't on good terms right now, and last I heard Kumo has two Jinchuriki who both have full control over their Biju, while I might be able to deal with the Jinchuriki of the Two Tails, even with you and Kurenai-san here we would be no match for the Eight Tails."

"There are a lot of unknowns in this mission Naruto-kun, but both Kurenai-chan and I have faith in your leadership skills. And besides, even if Kumo were to recognize you I don't think they would try anything while trying to gain a trading contract with a Country that considers you a hero, that would be a little counter-productive don't you think?" Yugao explained, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Thanks Yugao-chan, it feels weird not leading a group of Anbu, but my friends have been training hard as well, I'll just have to trust them to do what needs to be done." Naruto replied with a thankful nod, "I'll take the first watch of the night; I'll let you know when it's your turn alright? Try and get some sleep Yugao-chan."

"Thanks Naruto-kun, don't be afraid to get me if you feel like something isn't right, you may be strong, but we are still a team and I don't want you to have all the fun." Yugao replied with a smile, before turning and heading towards her tent.

-Few hours Later-

Naruto was sitting peacefully on a branch overlooking the camp when one of the clones he had sent to secure the perimeter was killed, sending him the memories.

_My clones were well hidden, how could someone have snuck up on them without them realising it… this isn't good, _Naruto thought before jumping down and making his way into the camp.

"Guys wake up, we have a problem, I need all of you out here right now." Naruto said, getting the message across by the urgency in his voice.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked as she came up beside him, hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

"One of the clones I had sent out earlier to secure the perimeter was taken out before it or any of the others could realise there was someone there." Naruto explained. Yugao's eyes widened at this, Naruto was one of the best sensors she had ever met, and to be able to sneak up on him unnoticed was almost unheard of.

"Hinata, Shino, get in the middle of Kurenai, Yugao, Kiba and I. I Hinata to use her Byakugan to get a full 360 of the area while Shino surrounds the camp with his bugs in case Hinata misses something or the enemy is fast enough to get through unnoticed." Naruto said.

"What about me Naruto?" Kiba asked "Akamaru and I should be able to smell whoever is out there."

"You can't always trust your nose Kiba, during my years in Anbu I came across reports of Ninja able to mask their smell to sneak by Inzuka. Just be ready for an attack." Naruto said, receiving a nod as they all took up defensive positions.

_"Your reputation precedes you Reaper of Konoha, I would never have thought that one of the most feared Anbu to ever grace the Elemental Nations would carry such a burden as you do… tell me, does it speak with you?"_ A voice asked, making Naruto's and Yugao's eyes narrow.

"How would you know about what I carry? And as for your question I haven't spoken with 'it' in a long time." Naruto replied.

_"I know many things about you Reaper-san, and also about the organization that hunts that which is inside you young Namikaze." _The voice said, making Naruto's eyes widen, along with Kurenai's.

"You seem to know a lot about me, yet I know nothing about you. Why haven't you shown yourself yet? Are you a part of the Akatsuki?" Naruto asked; acting calm on the outside, yet inside he was anything but calm. _How would he know about the Kyuubi…? And he also knows about my father, those are two of Konoha's best kept secrets._

_ "I'm not yet at full strength Reaper-san, it wouldn't be wise for me to show myself to the world just yet. I could care less about what you hold inside you, what the Akatsuki intends to do is bound to fail in the end, just remember that when I make my presence known, the Akatsuki will be the least of your worries. Farewell for now Reaper-san, make sure to cherish these moments of peace with your friends and the ones you love, for when I return this world will burn."_

"We need to leave, right now." Naruto said after a few moments of silence, earning nods from the rest of his team. After what just happened nobody wanted to stay there any longer. "Kurenai-san, Yugao-chan, come with me while the rest of you pack up and get ready to leave."

"He knew too much Naruto-kun, the fact that he knows about what you hold and who you're related to is something that we should be worried about. He also said that he wasn't at full power, yet he managed to sneak up on us and take out your clones without them noticing; I hate to think of what someone like that might be capable of when at full power." Yugao said after the three of them had gotten far away enough from everyone else.

"I agree, he knows who I am and what kind of reputation I carry, yet he wasn't fazed by that. I need to let Tsunade-Sama know about this." Naruto said before quickly taking out a scroll and writing a few things before making handsigns.

**"Kuchiyose no Jutsu"** Naruto said before a small puff of smoke appeared and a small toad popped out.

"I need this message delivered to the Hokage immediately, make sure no one but her sees it as it contains some of Konoha's best kept secrets." Naruto told the toad before handing it the scroll.

"Naruto, is what he said true? Are you really a Namikaze?" Kurenai asked, making Naruto sigh.

"Yes Kurenai-san I am. My real name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, son of Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze and Konoha's Red Hot-Blooded Habanero Kushina Uzumaki, who; like me, was the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi." Naruto explained, making Kurenai's eyes widen. "But right now that's the least of our concerns, I trust that you will be able to keep this to yourself until Baa-chan and I decide to make the announcement."

"Of course Naruto, you have my word that I won't tell anyone about this." Kurenai replied.

"Thanks Kurenai-san, now we should head back, looks like they are pretty much done packing up." Naruto replied before heading back to the camp.

"Alright, I've sent a message to Tsunade-Sama letting her know of our current situation. We will not be stopping until we reach wave this time, I want you all on high alert in case something like that happens again. He was able to kill my clones and slip by without any of them noticing, as well as slipping past Hinata's Byakugan. If we have to stop for any reason I don't want any of you wandering off by yourself, pick a partner now and you two will stick together until we reach wave and after that formulate a better plan." Naruto explained as he stood beside Yugao, Kurenai with Hinata, and Kiba with Shino.

"I do not think we will have another run in with whoever that was, but regardless of that this mission just became a lot more deadly, and I don't want any of my friends to die. Now lets' go"

-With Tsunade-

Tsunade was in the middle of a meeting with both Jiraiya and Kakashi concerning the Akatsuki when a small puff of smoke appeared on her desk.

"Tsunade-sama, Naruto-san sends you a message, stating it was for your eyes, and your eyes only." The small toad said before disappearing again.

"What has the brat gotten him-self into now…" Tsunade sighed out as she unfurled the scroll and started reading it. Upon reading it however her demeanor changed and her eyes widened slightly.

"What happened with Naruto-kun Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked, put off by the blonde Hokage's sudden change.

"Naruto and his team stopped on the border of Fire Country for the night and Naruto decided to take first watch while his teammates slept. A few hours into his shift Naruto's clones were killed without any of them sensing who did it." Tsunade said, making Jiraiya's eyes widen.

"Bullshit, even I have troubles just sneaking past Naruto and his clones, especially when they are hidden. Naruto is almost as good as me when it comes to stealth." Jiraiya said, surprised that someone would be able to kill multiple of Naruto's shadow clones without one of them sensing who was there.

"That's not all, whoever did that was able to sneak up on the team and speak with Naruto, even though Hinata was using her Byakugan and Shino had his bugs surrounding the area. He knew the kind of reputation Naruto had, as well as the facts that he is Minato's son and is the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi." Tsunade explained.

"Impossible, those are some of Konoha's best kept secrets; the only person who knows where documents like that are held is the Hokage." Kakashi said, "Was he part of the Akatsuki?"

"According to Naruto he isn't, going on to quote that 'What the Akatsuki is planning to do with the Biju is bound to fail,' and later telling Naruto to enjoy the peace with his friends and loved ones because the next time he makes his presence known he promises to make the world burn."

"So… what you're saying is that this person… was able to kill Naruto's clones without being caught, but was also to hold a conversation with Naruto's team who, might I add, have a Hyuuga, Aburame, and Inzuka on it, without being seen, sensed, or smelled?" Jiraiya asked, earning a nod from Tsunade.

"This isn't good. We should send a team of Anbu to investigate the area to see if they can find anything. No doubt Naruto will already be on the move again, you could send another team as backup but by the time they got there the negotiations would probably already be finished." Jiraiya said.

"Agreed, I'll send a team of Anbu to search the area where Naruto and his team set up camp. Jiraiya, I want you to ask around your spy network, see if anyone else has had a similar experience as this, or at the least try and figure out who might be capable of something like this." Tsunade ordered, earning a nod from Jiraiya before he Shunshined out of the office. "Kakashi, I want you to lead the Anbu team in charge of searching the area Naruto encountered this person, your Sharingan will be useful in picking up chakra signatures and tiny details other people might miss."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said before also using a Shunshin to leave the tower.

"Why can't you ever do something simple without turning it into a big pile of paperwork…? Be careful Naruto-kun, to many people care about you for you to kick the bucket this early." Tsunade said as she gazed out the window.

_ A threat supposedly bigger than the Akatsuki… we need to be ready for anything. Suna will need to be informed of this as soon as possible as well._

**Well… that's it. Stories over, time for something else… Syke. Anyways, sorry for not updating yesterday, I got a new car a few weeks ago and the dealership I bought it from ruined the amp in it so they had to replace it and the new one just came in yesterday, so I was a little busy. I was also busy early this morning taking drivers training for Semi-trucks… so yea… been pretty interesting day and a half. Closing out the 3 main pairings for Naruto, they are going to be… *Drumroll* Kurenai/Yugao/Shizune, with Yugao being the main pairing *Drumroll Ends*. A lot of people are asking about Anko but don't worry she will get love, just not from Naruto. I'm leaving a fourth spot open for Naruto in the chance I want to add a foreign girl later in the story… say Konan or Samui or something, but I want to get your opinion on that so leave a review and I'll take suggestions for that. Also I'm stuck on what to do with Kakashi, a good pairing I think for Kakashi is Kurenai but she is going to wind up with Naruto, and there are not a lot of female characters to choose from whose personality would go with Kakashi, so I'm also taking suggestions for a girl for him, one from the cannon or just an OC. Doing a bit of reading on Japanese mythology earlier today and the Demon Brothers Gozu and Meizu actually seem related to Gozu and Mezu of Japanese culture being the guards of the underworld, not sure if they actually are or not but yea… the more ya know. One last question before I start suggesting things you guys probably don't pay attention to anyways, is given the fact that Itachi was loyal to Konoha, do you think he would have actually taken Naruto to Akatsuki? Would be a cool idea for a fic I think, and also quite humorous, Itachi managing to catch Naruto then not knowing what to do with him… probably more I wanted to talk about it but I forgot so couldn't have been that important…right? And yes with powers like Naruto's he could have beaten Kiba and Asuma a lot faster but where is the fun in that right? Next chapter- Trading treaties and Lonely Kitties**

**Suggestions**

**-YouTube Channels-**

**NateWantsToBattle- really cool parodies and does Anime intro's in english, sh**

**SmoothMcGroove- awesome gaming Acapella**

**FrankieOnPcIn1080p- Pc gamer, awesome commentaries and puts a lot of thought into his videos.**

**Penguinz0- funny as fuck, nuff said**

**AWE me- has a lot of Man At Arms videos (blacksmith that makes video games/anime/movie weapons in real life)**

**Movies that look good**

**-Godzilla- grew up watching the king of monsters**

**-Hercules, The rock as the son of Zeus seems like a good move**

**-Transformers age of extinction- one word DINOBOTS**

**Games that look good**

**New Naruto game (revolution or something I think)**

**Dragon Age Inquisition**

**Lords of The Fallen- kinda iffy on this one tbh**

**J Stars Victor Vs- Shounen Jump anime crossover fighting game made by Namco Bandai, who wouldn't want this, Ps3 release that last I checked was only released in Japan but they might bring it to western gamers. **

**Middle Earth- Shadows of Mordor… After the piece of shit that was war in the north I hope they redeem the LOTR gaming franchise with this.**

**Mortal Combat X**

**No fics this time, haven't really been reading last few days, focusing on this. If anyone has any suggestions for a good read feel free to let me know! Please R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

**-Long Ass Rant No Jutsu-**

**What's up guys, welcome back to A Different Path. Had a variety of different reviews for my last chapter, a lot of people liked the OC villain I made while a few didn't and thought he was overpowered. Let me remind everyone that 1: This is still the beginning of the story, Naruto will have plenty of time to grow and become even more powerful before we see any drastic action with the villain and 2: Naruto is not alone, he has Kakashi, Yugao, Jiraiya, allies that he will make in the future, and the rest of his friends to help him fight, some will help more than others but he doesn't have to fight alone. Would like to thank Silver Wolfos for reminding me that I don't have to follow cannon to the letter, and while cannon events can certainly be used to move my story forwards they don't have to play a huge roll, so if you're reading this you have my thanks. Along with Silver Wolfos I'd like to thank LeafRanger, who has pretty much been with me since I started writing Fanfiction over a year ago… holy shit its' been that long, damn… and DbTiger for leaving a very detailed review of chapter two, picking apart flaws that I had made, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and is free to leave constructive criticism, just don't flame me for no reason like a few people have, if anyone actually wants to take the time to look through reviews you can't miss it, there is only person to finish a review by saying he is gonna report this fic as much as he can just so it gets deleted… if you don't like my fic don't read it, its' fairly simple really. I was also accused of not even reading the Manga on a review of a different story and that all I do is copy from FanFiction, don't worry I'm up to date with both the manga and the Anime, which have recently been cool, Sage of the Six's paths mother was/is crazy as hell, on a side note from that, this seems to be amounting to the final confrontation, and personally I can see one of the main characters dying, or a repeat of the Sage of Six Paths, anyone else who has read recent manga issues will probably know what I mean… And if I've copied anyone's ideas or aspects of their stories it was unintentional and I'm sorry, I'm trying to make my own original story, and with how many great FanFictions there are on this site somebody is bound to copy someone's ideas whether they are intentional or not, that's my theory on it anyways. Now something a little different, I wanted to do something like this for my first FanFiction but never quite got around to it… but my idea is that if anyone would be interested, I could spend time re-creating Naruto's house in Minecraft and have a link for anyone who might want to see it, obviously some things would be a little different cause Minecraft only gives someone so much to work with, but I think it would be pretty cool if I could actually pull something like that off and have it look nice, tell me what you think. Now… onto the pairings… again… For Naruto's (Potential) Fourth pairing, I think some people misunderstood what I meant when I listed Konan and Samui, only thinking that there was those two to pick from, pick anyone you want, but I'd like for you to put a little thought into it, Naruto will need powerful allies, while someone like Samui is 'cool' (Which roughly translates to Big Tits), I didn't find her as powerful as say… Konan, and given their status as a Jinchuriki Fu and Yugito, just something to keep in mind. Koyuki (In my mind anyway) could also be a good ally to have through say political marriage, or just the trade of goods, doesn't matter, because Spring/Snow Country's advanced tech could be useful in the future, like I said, just something to keep in mind when making your decisions.**

Tsunami sighed as she sat in her office looking through a large pile of trade treaties that had been sent in over the past few days. Since Team Seven had helped protect her grandfather as he built the bridge that now connected Wave to the mainland, the country had grown to become one of the largest trading ports of the Elemental nations. Thoughts of Team Seven brought a small frown to the young Daimyo's face as she remembered the young blond boy who helped not only change her son, but her country as well. They had received no new information regarding the whereabouts of Naruto Uzumaki, the person her country thought of as a hero.

"I hope that wherever you are you're doing alright Naruto-kun…" Tsunami said, sure the rest of Team Seven had played a large role in defeating Gato and freeing the people of wave, but Naruto helped changed her son Inari, and that had earned the blonde a special place in her heart.

"Tsunami-Sama, the team you requested from Konoha has arrived." Came a voice through her intercom.

"What? Already, they weren't supposed to arrive for another day at least." Tsunami said to herself before telling her secretary to let the team in.

"Hello Ninja-san, sorry if I seem a little disorganized but I wasn't expecting you till later tonight or tomorrow." Tsunami said apologetically.

"Sorry, I had planned to arrive later today but my team and I had a little… _incident_, so to speak, and I thought it would be best for us to arrive as soon as possible." The hooded figure at the front said, "I'm sorry if we have caused you any problems with our early arrival."

"Not at all Ninja-san." Tsunami replied with a smile, "Just caught a little off guard is all."_ Something about the one with the cloak is familiar… _

"Alright Daimyo-sama, let me introduce the team that will be acting as you're security during your negotiations with Kumo." The hooded figure said, receiving a nod from Tsunami, "Yugao Uzuki, Konoha's resident Kenjutsu specialist, Kurenai Yuuhi the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha, along with her old team, Kiba Inzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata-Hyuuga, all of which are excellent trackers with abilities trained for tracking enemies."

"A very prestigious team you have here Ninja-san, I've heard a lot about both Yugao and Kurenai." Tsunami said, while wave wasn't as militaristic as most of the other nations, as Daimyo she made sure to keep track of top ranking Shinobi from around the Elemental Nations. "And who might you be?"

"Most people know me as Konoha's Reaper." Naruto started, before removing his hood, making Tsunami's eyes widen, "but I would prefer it if you just called me Naruto."

"N-Naruto-kun!" Tsunami said, shocked at the change Naruto had undergone. Last time she had seen the blonde he was just a runt who had one of the shortest attention spans she had ever seen. In front of her stood a man that radiated power and respect, who she had to admit was quite handsome. What's more is that he claimed to be Konoha's Reaper, someone she had been keeping tabs on since she first heard about him.

"Hello again Tsunami-chan, I see you have become Waves Daimyo, congratulations. How have Inari-san and Tazuna-san been doing?" Naruto asked, shocking Kurenai at the way he addressed Waves leader, while Yugao just shook her head.

"Naruto-san, you shouldn't address the Daimyo like that, it's disrespectful." Kurenai scolded the blonde.

"It's quite alright Kurenai-san; Naruto-kun did a lot for not only the country of wave but for my family as well." Tsunami said with a smile, silencing any further scolding by the red eyed Jounin.

"I really didn't do that much Tsunami-chan, Kakashi-sensei and the rest of Team Seven played their part… as well as Zabuza-san and Haku-san." Naruto said with a smile remembering the person he considered his first friend from outside the village.

"Such humility Naruto-kun, it would seem that more than just your body has matured over the past few years." Tsunami said, earning a slight nod of acknowledgment from Naruto. "I had originally planned to put your team in one of our hotels, but seeing as Naruto is the leader I would like to offer you a place to stay with me and my family. We have plenty of room for guests and I'm sure both Inari-kun and my grandfather would be happy to see you again. Inari-kun was devastated when we learned that you had disappeared suddenly, but he kept a smile on his face and continued to help the village, saying that it was something you would have done Naruto-kun."

"He did huh? I'm glad he was able to change from the way he was when I was first here. As for your request, I would be honored to stay at your house Tsunami-chan; it would be good to see Inari and Tazuna again. Maybe Inari can give me a quick tour later today." Naruto replied, earning a smile from Tsunami before she asked her secretary to call for her son. Tsunami and Naruto continued to talk about the change Wave had undergone while waiting for Inari to arrive, giving his team a chance to talk among themselves.

"Man, I can't believe how casually Naruto and the Daimyo are talking, its' like they have been friends for years. Last time I accidentally talked to a daimyo like that I was almost thrown in jail." Kiba said as he glanced at Naruto.

"Naruto is seen as a hero here Kiba-san, aside from naming the bridge after him; the Daimyo also said that he had helped change her son. It would make sense that he is on good terms with the Daimyo." Shino replied.

"Naruto-san has quite the track record for changing countries don't you think Yugao-chan? On his first mission out of Konoha he managed to free Wave Country from Gato, and according to Kakashi, he played a major role in helping the Princess Koyuki defeat her uncle Doto in the Land of Snow, allowing her to take her rightful place as the Daimyo of the new Spring Country." Kurenai said, receiving a nod from her friend.

"He definitely does… Naruto has a special quality that makes people want to believe in him. While he has greatly matured during his time in Anbu, Naruto still fights to be able to protect his friends and his village, his words have the power to make friends from even the worst of enemies." Yugao replied with a small smile.

"You really care about him don't you?" Kurenai asked, making her friend stiffen slightly.

"I-I'm not sure Kurenai-chan… A part of me tells me that I do, but the other part of me is scared to become too attached… I don't want another repeat of what happened with Hayate-kun to happen with Naruto…" Yugao replied sadly, making Kurenai's eyes soften slightly.

"We are Ninja Yugao-chan… while we may not be able to guarantee our own safety and the safety of our friends; I believe Hayate would have wanted you to move on. Knowing that I could die at a moment's notice, whether it's today, or a year from now; I would rather spend the rest of my time with someone who cares about me the same way I cared about them." Kurenai said, "I can see that you truly care for Naruto, and I can see that he truly cares about you… don't let this opportunity pass you by Yugao-chan."

"I-I'll think about it alright?" Yugao replied as she gazed at her blonde comrade. "Do you have anyone special Kurenai-chan? You speak as if you have experience with my situation."

"While a lot of men have tried to get my attention, none of them have had the characteristics of someone I would want to be with, most are perverts just looking to get with me." Kurenai replied.

"I see… What about Naruto-kun? I know he has a lot of characteristics that you are looking for Kurenai-chan." Yugao asked, shocking her friend.

"W-well… maybe a little when I saw the way he had changed, regardless of his age Naruto has a lot of characteristics that a lot of women would be attracted to. But after seeing how close the two of you are I would never want to get between the two of you, it was nothing more than a silly thought." Kurenai replied.

"I see… do you know about the laws passed down by the Second Hokage about clan leaders that are the last of their line?" Yugao asked.

"No I don't what would that have to do with Naruto-san though?" Kurenai replied.

"Naruto is the last of the Uzumaki clan and to a lesser extent the Namikaze clan as well. The Uzumaki clan is known across the elemental nations for both their knowledge of Fuinjutsu and the Uzumaki clan Kenjutsu style. The Namikaze clan, while being a small clan that not a lot of people knew about, was also well known for their Fuinjutsu, and were feared as some of the fastest fighters in the Elemental Nations. Naruto, as the last of both clans, has the right to take more than one wife to help him rebuild his clan under the CRA." Yugao explained, making Kurenai's eyes narrow.

"Taking more than one wife to meet someone's means for restoring a clan is not something I would be interested in Yugao-chan, you know my standing on things like that." Kurenai replied, making Yugao nod.

"I do, right now Naruto doesn't want to be placed in the CRA, but I think with the reputation of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto might get forced into it. Receiving little love and care growing up Naruto doesn't want to be put into a loveless marriage just because of who his parents were, and would rather be able to choose who he wants to spend the rest of his life with. I'm not telling you to jump the gun on this Kurenai-chan; all I'm trying to say is at least get to know him." Yugao said.

"Why are you telling me this Yugao-chan? I can see how much you care for him so why bring something like this up?" Kurenai asked, making her friend sigh.

"I watched how Naruto-kun struggled growing up, always trying to earn the people's respect and attention, and with the burden he has had to deal with since birth he deserves to have happiness in his life. Like I said earlier, Naruto-kun has a lot of qualities that women find desirable, regardless of how my relationship with Naruto-kun progresses I would hate to see him forced into a loveless marriage with some spoiled merchant's daughter. I've noticed the way a few others have been looking at Naruto, Shizune-san seems to be attracted to Naruto now as well, if only physically, but given the chance to get to know Naruto I'm sure her feelings could grow to something deeper. There is one other that I know for sure has feelings for Naruto-kun, however, they are not mutual, and Naruto plans to confront her before they can escalate any further." Yugao said. Kurenai had a feeling that she knew who the mystery girl was, although she hoped she was wrong for the sake of her student's happiness.

"I see… I'll think about it I guess, but I won't make any promises." Kurenai said, making Yugao nod shortly before a knock was heard and the door started to open.

"You called for me Ka-chan?" The young boy asked.

"Hello Inari-kun, the shinobi from Konoha have arrived and I would like for you to show them to our house." Tsunami replied.

"Alright… but weren't they supposed to be staying one of the hotels?" Inari asked.

"At first I had planned to put them in one of our newer hotels, but a certain development has made me change my mind." Tsunami replied, earning a nod of understanding from her son.

"Uhh… Ka-chan, did you ask them about Naruto-niisan?" Inari asked hopefully.

"I didn't have to Inari-kun, Naruto-kun is here and is the one leading the team assigned to protect me during our talks with Kumo." Tsunami said, making Inari's eyes widen as he studied the Konoha Shinobi in more detail, eventually coming to the form of a smirking blonde.

"Nii-san!" Inari yelled as he ran and hugged Naruto, earning a chuckle from said blonde.

"Hey there Inari, you sure have grown over the past few years. Your mother has told me a few interesting stories about you." Naruto said with a smile

"What happened to you? We heard you just disappeared… we had thought you died, everyone was so upset. Why did you just disappear nii-san?" Inari asked sadly.

"My old teammate Sasuke decided to betray my village… I failed to get him to return and it almost cost me my life. I had a lot of time to think about how my career as a Shinobi had been up until that point and I decided I had to make changes. I joined Konoha's Anbu forces a couple weeks later and trained under some of the best Shinobi in Konoha for a couple years before making a name for myself." Naruto said, earning a nod from Inari.

"I understand nii-san, from what I read about Konoha's Anbu they try not to bring attention to themselves, maybe you can tell me some stories later." Inari said with a smile.

"Sure thing Inari, but me and my team are tired, please lead us to your mother's house and we can talk more there alright?" Naruto said, earning a nod from Inari before giving his mother a slight bow and leaving her office, followed closely by Naruto's team.

-Few Hours Later-

After Inari had shown Naruto's team to where they would be staying, Naruto had asked Inari to take them on a quick tour of the village. Naruto had noticed the main part of the village had stayed pretty much the same, but had to go over the newer area surrounding it a few times so he could remember the layout and formulate a plan for his team later. After that Kurenai and her team had retired to Tsunami's house to get a bit of rest while Yugao found a quiet place to practice her Kenjutsu, leaving Naruto and Inari alone sitting on the beach.

"So… what happened after you left here Nii-san?" Inari asked, wanting to get as many stories out of Naruto as he could.

"Well… A few months after my team returned to Konoha we participated in the Chunnin exams, looking back at how I was back then I'm surprised I was able to make it as far as I had. However, there was an invasion at the end of the exams; the traitor Oruchimaru had tricked Suna into a joint attack hoping he would be able to get revenge on the Village he thought had wronged him. The battle was tough and many shinobi were lost on both sides, including both Suna and Konoha's Kage. I fought and eventually defeated Suna's Jinchuriki after he gave his demon full control by summoning the Boss Toad Gamabunta and having him get close enough for me to wake him up since he had to fall asleep to give the demon complete control, since that time we have become close friends. By that time Oruchimaru had fled the village after our Sandaime Hokage sacrificed himself in attempts to seal away Oruchimaru's soul." Naruto said.

"Whoa, what happened to the Suna ninja? You said they were tricked right?" Inari asked.

"They were, Oruchimaru had killed the Kazekage and was impersonating him for his own gains. By the time Konoha had learned about this, Suna had already retreated back to their village. After negotiations Suna and Konoha became allies, with Konoha's new Hokage asking for Suna's help during my mission to retrieve Sasuke, and they arrived just in time to save my friends." Naruto explained. Naruto went on to explain the reason as to why Sasuke left, and telling Inari of his fight with his old friend, leaving out the part of using Kyuubi's chakra as he thought that was something Inari didn't need to know. They talked for a few more hours as Naruto told Inari about his time in Anbu, meeting Yugao, and some of the missions they had gone on together.

"You and this Yugao girl seem really close Nii-san; I'd really like to meet her." Inari said.

"Well you can, she is here with my team as part of your mother's security; the one with the purple hair." Naruto said, receiving a nod from Inari.

"Are you two like… dating? You sound like you care about her a lot." Inari asked.

"I do care a lot about her, but we aren't dating or anything like that, just friends for right now." Naruto said replied.

"Do you want to date her?" Inari asked, making Naruto stop to think.

Did he want to date her? He had to admit she was very attractive and strong, two qualities that Naruto would look for in someone he wanted to be with, but she was also caring and nice. They had been through a lot together over his few years in Anbu and Inari was right, they had grown very close.

"Truthfully… I would, Yugao-chan and I have been through a lot together over the past few years and like you said we have grown very close. However, Yugao-chan lost her fiancé before the invasion during the Chunnin exams and I'm not sure is she has moved on fully yet, or even if she feels the same way about me as I do her. You have to understand Inari that with the life we live its' hard to find love, and even if you find it there is no guarantee on how long it will last. There are also certain things about me that will make it difficult for me in the future, I have a lot of powerful enemies right now and I'd hate to put someone like Yugao-chan in harms' way just for my personal gains…" Naruto said, receiving a nod from Inari.

"I'm sure it will work out Nii-san, but we should get back home now. Its' almost dinner time and I'm sure there are things that my mother wishes to discuss with you." Inari said before standing up and walking back towards the village.

"You think so huh… well I hope your right…" Naruto said to himself as he to, stood up and walked back to the village.

-Next Day, late afternoon-

Inari had been right, after dinner Tsunami had taken Naruto and his team aside to discuss what the plan for the meeting was. Naruto and Yugao would accompany Tsunami to the meeting, while Kurenai and her team would set up a perimeter. In the off chance that the Kumo shinobi recognized Naruto as Minato's son, they hoped that Tsunade's plan of having Waves hero present would be enough to make Kumo not want to start anything, adding one of the best Kenjutsu users in the elemental nations as extra backup was just… extra precautionary measures.

Naruto and Yugao were currently wandering around the city, hoping to spot the team from Kumo that they heard had arrived earlier, but so far they had had no luck locating them.

"You're sure they are here Naruto-kun? Maybe Tsunami-san had wrong information." Yugao asked.

"I don't think so… the meeting is tomorrow, they have to be here somewhere." Naruto said, before feeling a somewhat similar presence. "Come with me Yugao-chan, I think I know where they are."

"How?" Yugao asked as Naruto led her through the streets, stopping a little bit away from one of Waves newer hotels, and then noticed some Kumo shinobi standing outside it.

"I knew it…" Naruto mumbled, earning Yugao's attention.

"Knew what, Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"That blonde kunoichi, the one with long blonde hair, can you see her?" Naruto asked, earning a nod from Yugao after a few moments of searching for her.

"What about her?" She asked.

"She is Yugito Nii, Jounin of Kumo, and is also the Jinchuriki of the Two Tails." Naruto said, making Yugao's eyes widen. "I knew where they were because I could feel a demonic presence similar the Kyuubi's, this changes things a little, I want you to find Kurenai and her team and tell her about this, I'm going to stick around and watch her a little more."

"Alright, just be safe alright Naruto-kun?" Yugao said before heading to find Kurenai.

-Couple hours later-

Naruto had been watching Yugito for the past few hours, not noticing anything to be off about the Jinchuriki, it was her teammates that bothered him. The looks they sent her when she wasn't looking, and the way they acted towards her made his eyes narrows in anger, reminding him of the looks he used to receive as a child.

"I shouldn't be surprised… Kumo is a village that prides itself on its militaristic strength, it would make sense that Jinchuriki would be seen as nothing more than tools." He said to himself, and then watched as Yugito left, heading towards one of the docks.

Summoning a toad Naruto gave it a message to deliver to Yugao and Kurenai, telling them he was going to follow Yugito for a while longer before returning to Tsunami's for the night. Having sent the message Naruto left the cover of the alley way and continued to follow Yugito through town. Coming to one of the docks farthest from the market area, Naruto watched as Yugito appeared to be meditating.

"You know… You don't have to hide from me. I could sense your presence since leaving the hotel." She said as she looked towards the spot Naruto was hiding.

"Impressive… Not many people have the ability to sense me while I'm trying to stay hidden… But I guess you have something inside that helps you with that huh?" Naruto said as he appeared at the end of the dock, shocking Yugito.

"W-what are you talking about?" Yugito stammered, "I sensed you with my own skill, nothing more."

"Cut the act, I know who you are. Yugito Nii, Jounin of Kumo, Jinchuriki of the Two Tailed Hell Cat." Naruto said, shocking Yugito.

"How do you know that? Does Konoha have spies in Kumo?" Yugito asked as she got into a fighting stance.

"Easy, Yugito-san, I do not want to fight." Naruto said, making Yugito relax slightly, "As for your question… No, Konoha doesn't have spies located in Kumo, and the reason for how I know doesn't matter, if you ask your tenant I'm sure she will be able to tell you."

While Naruto didn't rely on the Kyuubi's chakra, during his years in Anbu he had learned of the other Biju from the fox sealed inside him. While he knew the Biju didn't have actual genders, they act and sound a certain way, and some took the way they were addressed more seriously than others.

_How would he know about you Nibi? If Konoha doesn't have spies in Kumo, there would be no possible way he would know about that, as the Bingo book doesn't have me listed as a Jinchuriki._

_** The reason he knows is because like you, he is also a Jinchuriki, though I cannot sense what one of us he holds. He must supress his Biju's chakra, I can only sense a small amount coming off of him. Be careful Yugito-chan, even if he doesn't use his Biju's chakra, I can sense a powerful aura coming from him.**_

"I see your tenant has told you of what I am, as I said I do not wish to fight you Yugito-san, I just wanted to talk." Naruto said, earning a nod from Yugito.

"She told me what you are, but couldn't tell me what Biju you hold. You know a lot about me but I know nothing about you Shinobi-san." Yugito replied.

"Indeed you don't… My name is Naruto Uzumaki, Elite Jounin of Konoha, Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox." Naruto said, "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Uh… Sure; as long as you don't try anything." Yugito replied, earning a nod from Naruto as he took a seat next to her.

"Like I said Yugito-san, I didn't come here to fight. How long did you know I was following you?" Naruto asked.

"Nibi alerted me to your presence when I was at the hotel, I did not, however, expect you to follow me out here." Yugito replied as she gazed across the ocean.

"I see, as a team leader I was curious as to who Kumo would send. With the threat of the Akatsuki looming overhead I didn't expect them to send one of their Jinchuriki on such a low ranking mission." Naruto replied, making Yugito look at him questioningly.

"Akatsuki? Who or what is that?" She asked.

_ I see… she doesn't even know that there is an organization of S ranked criminals after her…_

"I'm surprised you don't know who they are. The Akatsuki is a group of S ranked Ninja from around the Elemental Nations that is currently hunting people like you and me." Naruto replied. "Right now we only know of two of their members, one being Itachi Uchiha, S ranked Criminal of Konoha, Uchiha prodigy that had entered Anbu by the age of Ten, and was an Anbu captain by age thirteen, and is said to have been one of the strongest Uchiha since Madara (Not sure if that's actually in cannon or not but roll with it anyways, Itachi's a bad ass). His partner is Kisame Hoshigaki, nicknamed the Tailless Tailed Beast because of his supposed superhuman chakra levels, and is said to have been one of the strongest Shinobi to ever come out of Kiri." Naruto said, shocking Yugito. If the rest of the members were anything like Itachi and Kisame, the Akatsuki would be a serious threat to any of the Jinchuriki.

"Why are you telling me this? Would it not be easier for Konoha if other Village's Jinchuriki are captured?" Yugito asked.

"I believe you're missing the larger picture here, Yugito-san. An organization of S ranked criminals with members like Itachi and Kisame wanting to gather the tailed beasts would be anything but good. We have yet to learn of their true intentions, but whatever it is I can guarantee it would be anything but peaceful. And besides, us Jinchuriki need to stick together, I saw the looks your teammates were giving you at the hotel, I received them a lot when I was younger… In fact I received them up until I 'disappeared' three years ago." Naruto said.

"My life in Kumo isn't all that bad… The Raikage's younger brother is also a Jinchuriki and has looked out for me since my mother died, so I'm pretty close with the Raikage and most of the village accepts me. Some, like the two you saw earlier, can't see past my inner demon even though I have full control of her." Yugito said sadly, earning a nod from Naruto. "But even if most of the village accepts me, I still don't have a lot of friends back home."

"I see, you've had it a little easier then I have at least." Naruto said, earning Yugito's attention again. "Growing up I never knew my parents, I lived in the orphanage until I was kicked out at the age of six. The Sandaime Hokage was the only person who treated me nicely until my last year at the academy, where I earned friends and also a brotherly relationship with my Sensei. I didn't even know I was a Jinchuriki until I was tricked by one of the teachers to steal the forbidden scroll after my third time failing the academy, he told me if I could get the scroll I would pass and be able to become a Genin. Turns out he was working for the traitor Oruchimaru, and he tried to kill me. He told me about how our Yondaime Hokage couldn't kill the Nine Tails, and instead had to seal it away."

"Something tells me that there is more where this came from… How could you live through all that and still be sane… not wanting to kill everyone?" Yugito asked.

"I will admit I thought a lot about getting revenge when I was little… but I eventually found friends and people I could consider a family. I had finally gotten a little of the recognition I had always wanted growing up, and that's what stopped me from growing up to become a killer." Naruto said with a smile.

"I see… Nibi also tells me that you probably don't use or rely on your Biju's chakra, with that said thought she also says I should be wary of you because of the powerful aura she can sense coming off you… she says your most likely the domina-" Yugito started, then stopped blushing crimson as her inner demon continued her train of thought.

"Heh… a perverted Demon Cat, never thought I'd see something like that." Naruto said with a smirk, earning a glare from Yugito. "But if you must know, I don't use the Kyuubi's chakra, I used to have to rely on it a lot when I was younger but after certain events I decided it was time for a change, I joined Konoha's Anbu when I was 13 and only recently returned to Konoha's regular Shinobi forces… this is actually my first mission as an Elite Jounin." Naruto said "As for being dominating… couldn't tell ya, but something tells me that would be a role you would play."

"D-Don't encourage Nibi Naruto-san…" Yugito said with a blush, earning a laugh from Naruto.

"Sorry Yugito-san, I couldn't help myself… I'm sorry but I should probably get back to my team. Remember what I said about the Akatsuki Yugito-san, pass on the message to both the Raikage and his younger brother, I would recommend not going on any missions alone until something is done about them." Naruto said, before digging into his pocket and pulling out a sealing tag Yugito didn't recognize and handed it over to her.

"What is this for Naruto-san?" Yugito asked.

"It's a reverse sealing tag specifically designed by me for my friends. If you are in danger pump chakra into the tag and I will be able to teleport to you, you can only use it one time though before it runs out." Naruto explained, making Yugito's eyes widen.

"Why are you giving this to me?" She asked.

"As someone who is not only a Jinchuriki, but has also shared a similar past with me, we should stick together. Look out for the Akatsuki, anyone wearing a black cloak with red clouds, they are very powerful. I'm not downplaying your skills as I'm sure that you're a very capable Kunoichi, but the Akatsuki is a very dangerous organization that will take more than just a few people to be able to stand up to them." Naruto explained, earning a thankful smile from Yugito.

"Thank you… Naruto-kun, I promise I'll use this if I need help. "Yugito said as she stood up and prepared to leave.

"Alright Yugito…chan, Kumo and Konoha might not be on the best of terms right now… but you can count on the Reapers help if you need it, however those who cross the Reaper don't live for very long." Naruto said with smirk before using Shunshin to go back to Tsunami's house, leaving a shocked Yugito behind.

"Konoha's Reaper…" Yugito said to herself.

_**I told you he was powerful Yugito-chan… even with me I'm not sure you would be able to best him in a fight.**_ Nibi said, leaving Yugito with a lot to think about on her way back to the hotel.

-With Naruto-

Arriving back at Tsunami's house, Naruto made his way to find both Yugao and Kurenai with hopes of talking to them about the Nibi Jinchuriki.

"Ah, Tsunami-chan, do you know where Yugao-chan and Kurenai-san are?" Naruto asked as he saw Tsunami relaxing in the living room.

"I think they are out back Naruto-kun, they went outside a little while ago." Tsunami replied, earning a nod from the blonde.

Walking outside Naruto found Yugao going through Kenjutsu Katas while Kurenai watched.

"Ah Yugao-chan, Kurenai-san, I need to talk with you about something." Naruto said, earning both their attention.

"Naruto-kun your back, I was a little worried something might have happened, you were gone for a long time." Yugao said, stopping her training and walking over to Naruto, followed by Kurenai.

"I'm fine Yugao-chan, don't worry. I followed her out to one of the docks, she knew I was following her and called me out on the docks. The first few minutes were a little tense as she had thought I wanted to fight her, but I managed to calm her down. After that we talked for a while, I let her know about Kumo and we shared stories of our past, she is not well liked by some of the Shinobi in her village so we had a little in common. I was a little surprised she knew nothing about the Akatsuki, but I left her with a warning as well as one of my reverse summoning tags in the event she needs my help. I could tell she was strong but the Akatsuki are not to be taken lightly." Naruto said, earning a nod from Yugao.

"Do you think she is a threat tomorrow Naruto-san?" Kurenai asked, making Naruto shake his head.

"No I don't think she will be, Nibi let her know I was a Jinchuriki, but she also told me the Nibi said to be wary of me. It also turns out the two tailed hell cat is a bit of a pervert." Naruto said with a laugh.

"Really… That's all you got out of her Naruto-kun? Was that her tailed beast was a pervert." Yugao asked with a sweat drop.

"Well for the most… its' not every day a two tailed demon tells you that you look like the dominating type…" Naruto said with a sheepish grin, earning a slight blush from Yugao and a tick mark on Kurenai's forehead.

"Please get to the point Naruto-san." Kurenai said, earning a nod from the blonde.

"No fun Kurenai-san… " Naruto started, earning a glare from the red eyed Jounin before quickly continuing. "From what I gathered she had a past slightly similar to my own. She is close to the Raikage and the Raikage's little brother, who is Kumo's other Jinchuriki. Both are said to be the perfect hosts because they both have complete control over their Biju. Yugito is a Jounin level kunoichi even without the Nibi's chakra and from reports in the bingo book she is a skilled close range fighter. However, I feel like we were able to connect in ways that normal people can't, which is why I gave her my special summoning tag. She is not a threat to any of us, however; I cannot guarantee that the other Kumo Shinobi will be the same. So I would be prepared for anything."

"Alright Naruto-san, I'll let my team know to keep an eye out then." Kurenai said, receiving a nod in response.

"We should probably get some rest though, tomorrow will probably me long. And we need to be on alert, especially if the Kumo ambassador was to recognize me." Naruto said, receiving nods in agreement, they bid each other goodnight and left to their respective rooms, each having a lot to think about regarding conversations they had had today.

-Next Day, Daimyo's office-

Naruto and Yugao stood on either side of Tsunami as the ambassador from Kumo went over the agreement and restrictions laid down by Waves Daimyo, across from them stood Yugito and one other Shinobi Naruto didn't recognize. Outside Kurenai and he team had set up a perimeter outside while keeping an eye on the other Kumo Shinobi, in the off chance of something happening Naruto felt secure with them keeping watch from the outside.

"Everything appears to be in order Daimyo-sama, Raikage-Sama will be pleased that you accepted our terms for this agreement." The ambassador from Kumo said with a smile as he took the papers and sealed them away, then stood up and put out his hand.

"Wave is grateful for your business ambassador-san; we look forward to working with you more in the future." Tsunami said with a smile of her own, as she stood up and shook the Kumo ambassadors hand before bidding him farewell. Naruto and Yugito shared one more look at Yugito left, receiving a smile from the Kumo Jounin.

"That went better than we had hoped at least." Yugao sighed out after the door was shut.

"It doesn't seem like he recognized you either, which is a bonus."

"You're wrong Yugao-chan… he recognized me the moment he saw me, he just chose not to say anything. They will most likely rush back to inform the Raikage about me." Naruto said, before turning to Tsunami. "I'm sorry Tsunami-chan, but my team and I need to leave as soon as possible, a lot has happened on this mission and it would be best for us to leave as soon as possible."

"I understand Naruto-kun, I hope I will be able to see you again, Inari is going to be upset that you left without saying goodbye." Tsunade said with a small smile.

"Tell him I'm sorry Tsunami-chan, and that I'll come to visit again sometime." Naruto said with a slight bow, before leaving with Yugao to get Kurenai and her team.

"A lot has changed Naruto-kun, you've grown strong over the past three years, I'm sure regardless of whatever hardships you and your friends face in the future, you will be able to get through them." Tsunami said to herself, before sitting back down and doing paperwork.

-With Naruto-

"Eh, Yugao-chan, can you get Kurenai and her team and wait for me on the other side of the bridge? There is something I would like to do." Naruto said, receiving a nod in response Naruto shunshin'd out of the area.

Arriving at his intended area, Naruto proceeded to walk up a path leading to two graves.

"Haku-san… Thank you for showing me what it truly meant to be strong. I've earned a lot of friends since I met you, fought a lot of tough enemies, and have made a name for myself on the Nindo that you had, which now lives on through me. Thank you… Friend." Naruto said, before saying a prayer for Zabuza as well and leaving to meet up with his team.

Another mission to Wave that Naruto wouldn't forget anytime soon. New enemies, along with new friends, and a lot to think about regarding his purple haired friend, little did he know that Yugao was having similar thoughts about him.

"Eventful mission indeed…"

**And that's it, chapter Four complete, I'm still taking suggestions for the fourth girl, so don't think this chapter meant that Yugito is going to be the fourth pairing. Not too sure how much I actually like this chapter, I don't think it will be as good as the others but have to see what the reviews say. Developments with Kurenai and Yugao's feelings toward Naruto as well, this was kind of my way of showing how much Yugao and Naruto care for each other, as well as setting up Kurenai to take her friends advice and get to know Naruto, only time will tell for that. As well as bringing attention back to Shizune. I tried to set up their Naruto and Yugito's interaction as a way that could build into something deeper than friendship if the need arises, but also is cool with staying as friendship should someone else be chosen for Naruto. This will probably be the last chapter for a few days, I've done nothing but write and think about this story since Sunday, and while I love the feedback I'm getting gonna take a few days break from writing. I'm on shop week so don't worry, hopefully one or two more chapters before next Wednesday. *Spoilers for anyone who is not up to date with the Anime/Manga* We finally got to it… Neji is dead *sadface* it's a hell of a lot different watching it happen as opposed to seeing it in the manga… man what a feel trip this episode was. Onto something about it though I find really dumb, is the fact that people think the end of this episode is confirming Naru/Hina, while a Naru/Hina fan myself… I have one question for people who think that… Where Do You Get Off? Holding someone's hand to channel chakra doesn't confirm a relationship. It would be nice, but even in the manga there has been no confirmation of anything Naru/Hina related. *Spoilers for anyone not caught up to the manga* Sage of Six's Paths mother is insane, and strong as hell, with both Naruto and Sasuke gaining the abilities of the Sage, representing the Sage and his brother, will fight against the person who had enough chakra to stop an age of war all by herself, who has the Rinnegan, Sharingan, and Byakugan… pretty OP if you ask me, so I'm wondering what member(s) of Team Seven are/is going to die…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again everyone, sorry for the delay in this chapter… work suddenly got really busy and iv practically been gone since the day after my last update, working, delivering explosives to other shops, tons of stuff happened in the past week to say the least. While I have not had time to write I've had a lot of time to think about the direction I want this story to go, some of you may like it, some may not, the first major one is going to happen in this chapter, and few others will happen later in the story. Now to address a few reviews… I was under the impression that adding 'kun' to the end of a name was a term of endearment, not exactly meaning that someone had feelings for someone else. While Hinata in Canon calls Naruto "Naruto-kun" all the time, she also addresses Kiba and Shino as 'Kun' as well, and I highly doubt she has romantic feelings for either of them. Some people are still having issues with the fight between Asuma and Naruto… and for the record, after reading through it a few times I came to the conclusion that I really, really rushed the ending, so I'm going to go back and make it more believable, so check back for that sometime within the next day. People have dropped my story for uses of certain characters as well, while I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, this is FanFiction, and characters that are not important in canon can become important in this story. Koyuki for example, with no major roles in anything during canon really, in this story even without being paired with Naruto things will happen and she will still become a semi-important character to the story. So… As I said I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I won't belittle anyone for having a different standpoint than me, but this story, while following certain elements from Canon, will start to take a different path very quickly. Important parts of canon might still happen, albeit changed slightly by me and my writing, and some small parts will become more important. For the record, because someone reviewed about this, Tsunami is Inari's mother and Tazuna's (bridge builder, first mission out of the village where Naruto meets Haku)daughter and has been made the Wave Daimyo in this fic, so I was not getting 'Tsunade' mixed with 'Tsunami'… they are both separate characters. Jose19, in my opinion, living in the world where a slight mistake could spell certain death for anyone regardless of power, age wouldn't be a huge factor in a relationship, and I mean… honestly, what young guy has never fantasised about being with an older woman, especially someone as beautiful as Kurenai, so call the pairing with Kurenai and Shizune somewhat of a biased opinion from yours truly. I didn't address this because I honestly forgot about it, Naruto hadn't seen anyone over the time skip because he was living at Anbu Hq, and chose not to roam outside for long periods of time with or without his mask. Voting for the last (?) pairing are pretty much tied between Yugito and Konan, I have ways for both of them to work already planned out, so have to see which one comes to fruition in the future. Ncpfan pointed out a misspelling of Orochimaru, so I apologise for that as well. I got a few reviews concerning recent manga updates, and frankly I agree with almost all of them, while I don't really believe that Kakashi or Sakura will kick the bucket, I'm solid in my belief that either Naruto or/and Sasuke will. Last chapter (I think) Kaguya had an image of her son flash through her mind while looking at Naruto, I'm curious as to why that was other than the fact with Naruto's new powers he looks a lot like the sage, I'm guessing it will hold some sort of relevance in later chapters. I also know that the Namikaze were not a huge clan in the Narutoverse, thank god though that this is FanFiction right? Now on with the chapter, recommendations will be at the bottom as always, whether you choose to follow them or not is totally up to you.**

***Update 20/06/2014- created a poll on my profile for the fourth pairing, check it out. **

** I don't own Naruto, I think this is the first disclaimer I've done... oopsie**

-Konoha, Day after Naruto's return-

Upon arriving home the previous day, Naruto had asked Tsunade what she had done about the letter he had sent her. Getting the reply that she had sent an Anbu team led by Kakashi to search the area, but wouldn't be expecting a reply till the next day; Naruto had given her his mission report before agreeing to meet her back at the tower the following day. Naruto was now on his way to the Hokage Tower, Yugao following slightly behind him.

"Do you think Kakashi-sempai is back yet Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked, getting a sigh out of her blonde friend.

"I don't know Yugao-chan, I hope so. With Kakashi's Sharingan he should at least be able to pick something up." Naruto replied, although a little unsure of his own statement. Whoever it was the night before had been able to slip by him unnoticed, something that had not happened to him in a long time. "Whoever it was, they were very good at hiding their presence, even from me."

"I know… That's what bothers me Naruto-kun; what if he comes back before we are ready for him?" Yugao asked, a sense of hopelessness laced her voice that Naruto hadn't heard in a very long time, making his eyes soften slightly.

"Honestly, I'm not sure Yugao-chan." Naruto started, "but from what I gathered from our brief encounter he still had a long time to go until he had reached his full power. Same goes for both of us as well. There are still so many Jutsus' that I have yet to learn and master. We have time to train, become stronger, we both have access to my family's jutsu library, and I know for a fact that you want to learn the Uzumaki Kenjutsu style."

"Thank you Naruto-kun… You're right; we both have time to grow, along with everyone else. You don't have to shoulder this burden on your own. I'll always be there to help you, and I'm sure there are others who feel the same way." Yugao said with a smile, earning a nod in return from Naruto.

"Thank you Yugao-chan, I know that I have people I can count on in the leaf, as well as other areas around the Elemental Nations, but we will all need to be at our best to deal with not only the Akatsuki, but this new threat as well." Naruto replied, "But we should hurry to see baa-chan, she said that Kakashi should be arriving around this time and I would like to be there for his report.

Yugao replied with a nod as both she and Naruto quickened their pace towards the Hokage Tower.

-Hokage Tower-

Tsunade sighed as she gazed at the scarecrow Jounin that had just entered her office, she could tell from how he held himself that they hadn't found much, if anything, as to who Naruto might have encountered the night before. Pressing the button on her intercom she called for Shizune to send someone to find Naruto.

"No need for that Baa-chan, I'm already here." Naruto said as he entered the window, making a tickmark appear on Tsunade's forehead.

"Sorry, Tsunade-sama, I tried to stop him but he isn't a very good listener." Yugao said as she to, appeared in the window.

"Tell me something I don't already know." Tsunade scoffed, earning a smirk from Naruto as he took a seat beside Kakashi, Yugao sitting next to him.

"So… did you manage to find anything Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked?

"Not much Naruto, there were traces of Chakra around the area, then a single trail leading away from the clearing. But we didn't get very far before it disappeared completely, if I had to guess it was a long range jutsu… very long range. Which would mean it would take a great deal of both Chakra and control to be able to hold it for as long as you say they did." Kakashi stated, earning a nod from Naruto.

"In a way… it resembles when Zabuza used the Hidden Mist technique on us during our first mission to wave and made his voice reverberate through the fog making it seem like he was everywhere at once." Naruto summarized, earning a nod from Kakashi.

**The Cyclops is right brat, I could sense the chakra was being sent from far away, but inside this seal I couldn't tell just how far. The chakra felt… old… almost… very old… full of memory, and anger.** A voice inside Naruto's mind spoke, making the blonde's eyes widen slightly, attracting the attention of the others.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked, slight worry in her voice.

"Yea… I'm fine Yugao-chan; the Kyuubi just had something to say on the matter." Naruto replied, making the others have the same reaction he just did.

"What did it say?" Kakashi asked, making Naruto sigh as he heard a slight growling in the back of his mind.

"He said that you were right about it being a long range Jutsu, but inside the seal he wasn't able to tell just how far the chakra came from. He also said that the chakra felt old, full of memories and anger." Naruto said.

"How old exactly? Could he tell?" Tsunade asked, if they could get an age they might be able to narrow the search down.

**No… I couldn't tell exactly… but it felt older than Madara, which means it goes back to before Konoha became a village. ** Kyuubi said, making Naruto frown.

"The fox said it felt older than Madara's chakra, which means it is also older than Konoha. This means that we most likely won't be able to trace it back to anyone, as there are no records from before that time." Naruto said, earning a nod from the rest present.

_Kyuubi… I would like to ask you to keep looking into this. You are the only one who would have information from a time before the great villages' were formed. Our lives our connected, if I were to die, so would you, and while we may not see eye to eye on most things, I don't want you to die just because I wasn't strong enough, even though you would eventually re-appear. _Naruto said in his mind, slightly shocking the large fox, though he hid it very well.

**Alright brat, I'll look into it, but I can't promise anything so don't get your hopes up to high. Just remember I'm only doing this because I don't want to die… reforming takes time, and honestly it really sucks.** Kyuubi replied, making Naruto nod with a slight smile.

"I asked the fox to look into it, being around pretty much since the birth of Shinobi he has seen a lot, and is probably our best bet to actually find something out about whoever we encountered the other night." Naruto said.

"I may not like it… But you have a point; the Kyuubi is one of the only beings old enough to know what happened before the formation of the five great villages. Whilethe Sonja clan kept detailed record of events that happened before Konoha was formed, most of the documents have been lost over the years, or are worn beyond recognition." Tsunade said.

"It would seem that at this moment, there is little left to be said about what happened during the mission. But I would like to make a request Baa-chan." Naruto said, getting Tsunade's attention, Naruto hardly requested anything from her anymore, unless it was very important.

"I'm listening."

"I would like you to call together Teams Eight, Nine, and Ten, along with their senseis'. I would also like you to call Sakura, Shizune, Ayame, Teuchi, and Iruka to come as well, I think it's time that they learned the truth of who and what I really am." Naruto said, making Tsunade's eyes widen slightly.

"Are you sure brat? I mean… you just came back and everything, they are still trying to get used to the new… well you I guess." Tsunade said, but earned a nod from Naruto. Groaning at the thought of how much paperwork this would create for her, Tsunade told Shizune to send for the people Naruto had asked for.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto stood in front of his friends, their sensei's, and the three people he could call family.

"I've asked Baa-chan to call you all here today to discuss a… few things." Naruto started, gaining everyone's attention. "There are many things that you do not know about me, and being my friends and people I consider family, I believe you all have a right to know the truth."

Iruka paled slightly after hearing Naruto say that… he wasn't going to tell them _that_ was he?

"What do you mean Naruto?" Sakura asked. Naruto sighed, trying to find the right place to start his little speech.

"I guess it would be best for me to start from the beginning… 16 years ago, October the tenth, what day does that mark?" Naruto asked.

"That's the day the Kyuubi attacked the village." Shikamaru stated, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Exactly, now, even though the Yondaime was considered to be one of, if not the strongest, Hokage to lead Konoha, he couldn't kill the Kyuubi… No one can." Naruto started, confirming Iruka's thoughts from earlier.

_I really hope you know what you're doing Naruto… I would hate for this to backfire on you…_ Iruka thought, as well as Ayame and Teuchi, as they knew exactly what he was, not that it mattered to them.

"The Nine Biju is large masses of Chakra able to take physical form. Their power is based on how many tails they have. The Ichibi Shukaku is the weakest of the tailed beasts, while the Kyuubi is the strongest. That being said, the only way to defeat a Biju is to seal it away."

"You mean… Like Gaara right?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, although Gaara's seal was iffy at best, hardly strong enough to hold the bloodthirsty desires of Shukaku, which is the reason why Gaara was the way he was during the Chunnin exams." Naruto explained, earning nods from those around the room. "There is a total of Nine Biju, which means there are Nine Jinchuriki, which is the term given to those that hold the Biju inside them."

"Nine? How do you know that?" Tenten asked, slightly intrigued by what she was hearing.

"During my days in Anbu I came across bingo book entries of a few of the Jinchuriki, Kumo houses the Two tails and the Eight tails, both Jinchuriki have complete control over their Biju, and can use its power freely, even being able to transform into the Biju themselves. Waterfall holds the Seven Tails, we do not know much about their Jinchuriki, other than the fact that she is roughly around our age. Suna has the Ichibi Shukaku, who is sealed inside their Kazekage Gaara, but you all knew that already knew that. And, as some of you may have already guessed, Konoha houses the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails." Naruto said, causing a few eyes to widen in surprise,

"How come we never knew about this?" Sakura asked, her question directed more towards Tsunade than Naruto.

"The Sandaime created a law on the night of the Kyuubi attack, forbidding people to talk about who the Jinchuriki was… but that didn't stop them from telling their children to stay away from him." Naruto said, causing Shikamaru and Neji's eyes to widen.

"It's you, isn't it Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"I figured you would be the first to figure it out Shikamaru, it would seem that you and Neji figured it out as well as Shino." Naruto said, earning the attention of those that had not yet figured it out.

"That's what you meant in the Chunnin exams isn't it Naruto… about knowing my burden. That would also explain the red chakra I saw when you re-opened your Chakra points." Neji said. Knowing the truth, Neji felt ashamed of how he had talked to Naruto that day, something that Naruto picked up on.

"Yes it is Neji; however I do not want you to feel bad about anything that happened that day. You had no idea at the time, so I can't hold what you said against you. Besides, it all worked in the end and we have become friends since then." Naruto said, earning a thankful nod from Neji.

"Why didn't you tell us this before Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Understand Sakura, that when I was younger, people would trick me into believing they liked me, a lot of the time it would end with me being beaten in an alleyway before the Anbu intervened. I was afraid of telling all of you because I was scared that you wouldn't be able to look at me the same again, we were all young, and you wouldn't have been as understanding as you are now." Naruto explained. Sakura had to admit he had a point, back then she didn't know how she would have reacted to the news, she was a fresh out of the academy Genin, she probably would have been scared of him.

"That is why you had Anbu watching over you as a child, why the villagers didn't like you. How could they! They should have known the difference between the jailor and the jailed." Ino said, surprising everyone in the room, they never thought Ino would have reacted like that.

"Heh… you have to look at it from their standpoint Ino-san, the Kyuubi was easily the scariest thing that any of them had ever seen, people lost sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers that day, while I'm not saying what they did to me was right, I can understand where they are coming from. Its human nature to fear the unknown, and at that time they were still unsure if I was actually me, or the Kyuubi." Naruto explained.

"That is a logical answer Naruto, although I am sure there are those who would have not changed their opinion on you." Shino said, earning a nod from Naruto.

"I'm sure there wouldn't have, as we have similarities to the way people look at us for what we hold inside us. But I was young and naïve then, and like I said earlier scared as well." Naruto said.

"But why would the Yondaime choose you? I'm sure he could have chosen any number of people to take the burden." Lee asked, unusually calm after listening to what Naruto had to say.

"That… Lee, is a very good question. It also brings me to the other part of what I wanted to talk to you about. During my time in Anbu I found out who my parents were." Naruto said. Now that statement alone was enough to get everyone's attention again.

"Really? That's great Naruto, who were they?" Sakura asked, happy that her old teammate had finally found a part of his childhood he was missing.

"Some of the Jounin might know my mother, she was the only Kunoichi said to be on par with Baa-chan over there." Naruto said, as he pointed at Tsunade, "her name was Kushina Uzumaki, and before me… she was the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. She was brought to Konoha from Uzushiogakure (Village hidden by the Whirling Tides) when she was young, her chakra was very special, easily able to bind the Kyuubi, although she didn't have access to its chakra as I do. As far as I know, aside from myself she was the last of our clan."

"I've never heard of the Uzumaki clan before, why is that?" Sakura asked.

"The Uzumaki clan was renown world-wide for their skills in both Fuinjutsu, and they're fearsome Kenjutsu style, said to be one of the strongest in all the Elemental Nations. For that reason… Uzushiogakure was wiped out during the second great Shinobi war. The symbol on the back of the Chunnin and Jounin flak jackets is actually the symbol of my clan and homeland, as we are distant relatives of the Senju." Naruto said, "In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if we were actually related Baa-chan, I would like for you to run some blood tests when this is over if you wouldn't mind."

"I'd be happy to Naruto." Tsunade said happily, the chance at her actually having a family member, even if it was small, was something she wouldn't pass up.

"Thank you." Naruto said with a smile, then continued, "The fact that my mother and father were together was a very well-kept secret, as my father had many enemies both in and out of the village, and only a handful of people actually knew they were together. Two of those people are in this room right now, while the third is probably off somewhere peeking at women in the bathhouse."

"I remember when your father found out that Kushina was pregnant with you he had ordered me to keep a watch over her to make sure she was ok at all times… he was really paranoid about it." Kakashi said offhandedly, making the others in the room look at him.

"You knew about this Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, earning a nod from the scarecrow, "why didn't you every say anything about it then?"

"It was never my place to tell." Kakashi shrugged, "that responsibility fell to Naruto's God Father and God Mother"

"Who were they?" Ino asked.

"Me, as well as Jiraiya… but personal reasons kept us both away from the village for a long period of time. Although if I had known Naruto was actually still alive I would have come back a lot sooner." Tsunade said with a smile as she looked at Naruto.

"You had two out of three Sannin as your god parents!" Kiba all but shouted, "Who the hell was your father?"

"My father was from one of the lesser clans in Konoha, the Namikaze." Naruto said, making the older people in the room, aside from those that already knew, go wide eyed with shock.

"Namikaze, as in Minato Namikaze… the Yondaime Hokage?" Shizune asked, now shocking the rest of the Genin as well.

"The one and only Shizune-chan." Naruto said with a smile, earning another small blush from the Hokage's assistant, one that didn't go unnoticed by both Kurenai and Yugao.

_I knew it, she finds him physically attractive… not that I blame her. If Naruto was to develop feelings for her I know she would eventually return them._ Yugao thought as she looked at Shizune.

_Looks like Yugao-chan was right… Shizune seems to be attracted to Naruto. Although once what he just told us becomes public knowledge, I'm sure a lot of women will be screaming his name._ Kurenai thought as well, thinking back to the conversation she had with Yugao during their mission to wave.

Unknown to those in Konoha, similar talks were going on in Kumo

-Kumo, inside the Raikage's office-

"Are you one hundred percent sure this is true?" A very large man asked as he looked at the man sitting across from him.

"Yes, A-sama; there is no doubt in my mind that the Konoha Ninja I saw was the son of Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage of Konoha." The small man said, making the Raikage smirk.

"I see, this could be either good or bad, depending on how we play our cards. Do you know if any of our Ninja had a chance to see him before or after the meeting?" the Raikage asked.

"I know Yugito had talked to him before, she left early in the afternoon and didn't come in till later in the evening. She told us it would be unwise to anger the Konoha Nin, although she didn't say why exactly. But when I saw him the next day it made sense, the boy radiates a powerful aura that demands respect." The man said.

"Thank you for delivering this bit of news to me, on your way out could you tell my secretary to call for Yugito and Bee for me?" The Raikage asked, earning a nod from the man before he bowed slightly and left.

-Back in Konoha-

"It makes sense really." Shikimaru started, "Naruto is pretty much a spitting image of Yondaime, I'm surprised we didn't realise it earlier. But I'm going to assume that the reason you didn't know about it was for the same reason he kept his relationship a secret right?"

"As usual you're right Shikimaru. Sandaime thought it would be been best for me to learn about it after I had become Chunnin; I would have had the skills to at least defend myself by that point. But because I went into Anbu before I could get into a second Chunnin exams I was told after about a year by Baa-chan." Naruto explained. "I believe that is also the reason he chose to seal the Kyuubi inside of me, I know if I were to be in that position it would be very hard for me to ask someone else to sacrifice their child."

"D-Do you hate your father for what he did to you?" Sakura asked, making Naruto shake his head.

"I might have a little when I first found out… But if it wasn't for him sealing the Kyuubi inside of me I wouldn't be where I am today, or the person that I am. Granted I might have had an easier time in school, more friends, and wouldn't have to deal with the bloodthirsty fox… but I don't think I would have matured as fast as I had to, or learn to deal with hardships from an early age like I did." Naruto replied, "I wanted to tell you guys this before announcing it to the village as a whole, as the people that are closes to me I thought you would deserve to hear it directly from me, in person."

"When do you plan on announcing it to the village Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked.

"I don't know for sure, I know that Baa-chan and I will have to have a meeting with the council first, and choose what name I want to take, so probably a day or two after the next council meeting." Naruto replied, then turned to Tsunade, "I… I think I want to keep my mother's name Baa-chan."

"Are you sure Naruto? We discussed taking both names, I'm sure it would be fine with the council." Tsunade replied.

"I'm sure this is what I want Baa-chan, the Uzumaki were well known and feared throughout the Elemental Nations, while the Namikaze were just a small clan that didn't have much. Having the Uzumaki clan reborn in Konoha would add a great military asset to our village, the Uzumaki Kenjutsu style would be even more dangerous given my Namikaze heritage, which has made me faster and able to react quicker to incoming attacks. The Namikaze and Uzumaki were also well versed in their own Fuinjutsu and I've been able to learn a little from both styles, and I'm currently trying to combine the two into one style. Also… from what I've heard I act a lot more like my mother than my father." Naruto explained, earning a nod from the busty Hokage.

"I see… you do remind me a lot of Kushina-chan brat." Tsunade said with a smile, making Naruto smile in turn, "if that is what you want Naruto, then I have no intention of arguing with you; we can discuss it when we go to see the council about announcing your heritage."

"Thank you Baa-chan." Naruto said with a smile, then, getting a sudden though; turned back to his friends. "Another thing you need to know about is the Akatsuki, a criminal organization of S ranked criminals; I've had a couple run ins with them already, as have Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, and Kakashi sensei." Naruto said.

"Why do we need to know about them?" Kiba asked.

"Aside from the fact they are a group of S ranked missing Nins, as I just said, they are after the Nine Jinchuriki… that obviously means that Gaara and I are targets, and a Jounin from Kumo. Itachi Uchiha is part of their group, as well as his partner Kisame, who you four had the pleasure of fighting." Naruto said, as he pointed to the four older Jounin in the room. "Even the four of you combined couldn't take them out. The only reason I wasn't taken that day is because Jiraiya made in it time between Sasuke foolishly challenged his older brother and paid the price for me."

"Do we know anything about any other members?" Kurenai asked, remembering how easily Itachi had defeated her.

"As of right now… we don't have a lot of information about them… only that they work in groups of two at all times. Orochimaru used to be a part of their group as well, so we can only assume a group that holds company like that will be powerful." Naruto said. In truth, they had information on most of their members thanks to a little… weasel… that Naruto learned about after a couple years in Anbu, however that was classified information, and he did not feel like making up an excuse as to how they knew so much. "However, the point I'm trying to get across, is that at all of your current levels, a run in with an Akatsuki member like Itachi or Kisame would most likely lead to your death in a one on one confrontation. The only people in Konoha right now who might be able to deal with someone like Itachi or Kisame would be myself, Ero-sennin, and Baa-chan. Asuma, Yugao-chan, Kakashi-sensei, and Gai, might be able to fight them to a draw, and while I hate to say this Kurenai; with your limited ability in both Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, going up against them by yourself would be suicidal."

"I hate to admit it Naruto… but your right. My specialty is Genjutsu, and going up against Itachi, and the person nicknamed the tailless Biju, with only Genjutsu wouldn't end well for me." Kurenai said dejectedly.

"Yes, however," Naruto started, earning her attention, "since you need the most help, I will make you an offer."

"I'm listening." Kurenai replied.

"I will offer to train you in both Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, and I can offer you a wide variety of weapons training as well, from Ninjato to Bo staffs." Naruto said, making Kurenai's eyes widen.

"I-I don't know Naruto…" Kurenai said, she wasn't sure how having someone younger than her giving her lessons would affect her reputation within Konoha.

"If you are worried about the difference in age, I'll have you know that I've taught Yugao-chan a few things, as well as Kakashi. But if it would make you feel better I'm sure that whenever I'm not helping Yugao train she would be willing to help you. She is living with me after all, and I have given her full access to my family's jutsu library."

"Wait, why make Kurenai-sensei this offer, but not any of us?" Kiba asked.

"I made Kurenai this offer because as we said earlier, with her limited skills in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, she wouldn't be able to do much of anything if she was to run into Akatsuki. At the same time, most of you have Clan's to learn from, while Sakura and Ino are both learning from Tsunade. So I made her the offer because you all have available sources to learn from, while Kurenai is not so lucky." Naruto replied.

"Wait… you said you were proficient in a variety of weapons right Naruto?" Tenten asked, receiving a nod as her reply. "Uh… would you want to spar sometime? I would like to see how my mastery of weapons matches up to yours."

"That would be fine with me; you will have to catch me at a time when I'm not busy though. If anyone else wants to spar sometime the same rules apply, although I will not be able to help you all with training." Naruto said, earning nods from around the room.

"That's all I wanted to talk about today Baa-chan, so if you don't mind me and Yugao-chan will be leaving to go get some training in." Naruto started then turned back to Kurenai, "think about my offer please Kurenai, having a good reputation means nothing if you're dead. Teuchi, Ayame-neesan, Iruka, you are all welcome at my compound whenever you want, or if you are ever in need of anything do not hesitate to ask."

"We should get lunch before training Naruto-kun." Yugao said, earning a nod from Naruto as they disappeared via Shunshin.

"I can't believe it…" Teuchi started, earning everyone's attention.

"What Teuchi-san?" Kakashi asked.

"The son of the Yondaime was my number one customer… think of the business I will get once word of his heritage gets out." Teuchi replied happily, causing his daughter to sweat drop.

-Back in Kumo-

Yugito fidgeted slightly as she stood across from both A and Bee, slowly digesting the information she had just learned about a certain blonde she met during her mission to Wave.

"So… you're telling me, that Konoha's Reaper is not only a Jinchuriki like Bee and I, but is also the last of two clans, those being the Namikaze and Uzumaki?" Yugito asked, earning a nod from A.

"It's a good thing I didn't get into a fight with him then." She said nervously, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"You are also lucky that while we are on shaky terms with Konoha… we are not outright allies, from what you told me of him he could have killed you, regardless of if you had used the Nibi's chakra or not." A said, "I believe he would know our ambassador would recognize him, which is probably why he told you of his status, he wanted to let you know in advance that fighting him would be a battle that you would not be able to win."

"That may be true… but he also gave me a lot of information about this group, the Akatsuki, and even went as far as giving me a reverse summoning tag in the chance I ran into them. If I may, A-sama, I would suggest trying to make an ally out of Konoha. Naruto is powerful now, but I can tell that he still has a lot of room to grow, along with that; they still have two out of the three Sannin in and around the village. And I don't need to remind you about their growing list of A ranked Jounin in the bingo books from across the Elemental Nations." Yugito said nervously, watching as A seemed to think about her proposal.

"I will think about it Yugito, both you and Bee are important to me, along with others in our village. The threat of the Akatsuki is not one to be taken lightly. And while I hate to admit it, Konoha does have higher calibre Jounin then we do, and while we have both you and Bee, you said earlier that the last Namikaze would be able to defeat you should a fight between the two of you occur, and between him, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi, they would probably be able to take out Bee eventually as well." A replied, earning a nod from Yugito, "I can't help but feel that there is something more at work here though, so for now unless specifically asked by me, I don't want either of you going too far from the village"

"Of course A-sama, be careful of any missions you accept for us though, the council has never really liked Bee and I." Yugito said before being dismissed.

(I can't rap and found it really hard to make a rhyming sentence that made sense… so Bee will probably not rap his sentences out in this story) "Our little kitty seems to think highly of the young Namikaze bro." Killer Bee said, earning a nod from the Raikage.

"Yes she does… perhaps we could use that to our advantage if peace talks come up." A replied, "Your brat sure has made a name for himself Minato, its' only a matter of time before he surpasses you."

-Later that Night, In Konoha-

After a quick lunch at the Dango shop, Naruto and Yugao had spent most of the afternoon training. Both had spent a little bit of time going through the Namikaze and Uzumaki clan library's before picking out a few scrolls each to practice with. Yugao had chosen a Kenjutsu scroll to study, along with a few Suiton Jutsus, Naruto had taken some of his father's notes pertaining to the Hiraishin and had spent most of the afternoon looking over them. After their training was finished Yugao had told him she wanted to hang out with her friends, and left Naruto to his own devices. Having nothing better to do Naruto decided to walk around Konoha, being able to enjoy Konoha's night life for the first time since he had joined Anbu.

Over the past few days he had a lot of time to think over the conversation he and Inari had had during his stay in wave, he wasn't confused about how he felt, he knew that he liked Yugao, but there were a few things that stopped him from acting on his feelings. The first was Hayate, he knew that Yugao, while not as much as she was before, was still in pain over her ex fiancés death during the Chunnin Exams. The second was the fact that he was a clan head, and would probably be asked to be placed in the CRA. While not wanting to be forced to take more than one wife, his desire to keep his mother's clan living outweighed those thoughts; and he didn't think Yugao would want to be a part of something like that. Thinking about the CRA brought him to another train of thoughts, not wanting to be forced into a loveless marriage; which he thought was most likely to happen.

"What's bothering you Naruto?" he heard, and turned to see Kakashi walking out of one of the stalls he had just passed.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei… I'm troubled by certain things regarding being a clan head." Naruto replied as Kakashi fell into step beside him.

"You mean the CRA… And I'm going to go out on a limb and also guess what that means regarding a certain purple haired ex Anbu of mine right?" Kakashi said, making Naruto nod.

"You know too much for your own good Kakashi-sensei." He replied, earning a shoulder shrug from his old sensei.

"I saw the same look on your father's face when the council had asked him to join the CRA, luckily for him though Kushina had shot the idea down before they could convince him to go along with it. Your mother could be quite… convincing, if she wanted to be." Kakashi said, "As for the issue regarding Yugao… I've caught you looking at her the same way you used to look at Sakura, I may not have been a good sensei when you were younger but I got to know you a lot better during your time in Anbu."

"My father was asked to be part of the CRA as well? I thought the Namikaze was just a small time clan?" Naruto asked.

"They were, however Minato was a special case. Your father was an extremely powerful man Naruto, both well respected and feared. While you take a lot from your mother, you also have a lot of qualities that your father had, if we were to have more shinobi like you in the village…" Kakashi said

"Then the Namikaze clan would have become a very powerful clan for Konoha to have… I see." Naruto finished. "But you also said that I have a lot of traits from my mother, who was also very powerful in her own right, my father would have had to marry powerful kunoichi for something like that to work… not some merchant's daughter."

"Yes he would have, but for your father that wouldn't have been an issue. He was a very popular man among many people, kunoichi included." Kakashi said, "You seem to be following quite closely in his footsteps I might add."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"From what I've seen you seem to be quite popular as well with both the civilian and shinobi population, people seem to be quite jealous that you and Yugao seem to be quite close to each other." Kakashi said, "I've also noticed that you are getting a lot of female attention even as we speak."

Naruto took a look around, Kakashi had been right. He saw quite a bit of the female population looking at him with want in their eyes.

"I see what you mean, however I do not want a relationship built on what clans I come from, or who my father was. I also don't want to be wed to some spoiled merchant's daughter." Naruto replied, "If I decide to accept the CRA, I will have a couple years to find suitable wives before the council starts to just push people on me. Hopefully I can figure something out in that time."

"I'm sure that you will Naruto, I would recommend starting with people that you already know, I know of a few people who already seem to have taken an interest in you." Kakashi said, getting Naruto's attention. "However, I am not going to reveal who those people are, because that would ruin the fun."

"I should have known that you wouldn't Kakashi-sensei. I know at least one person who seems to have feelings for me, but I have to admit her feelings are based on fake grounds. I am not, and never was the person she thought me to be." Naruto said, earning a nod from Kakashi.

"Hinata you mean? She is powerful in her own right, even if she doesn't know it. She is also very beautiful, but I have to agree that her feelings are based on the old you… at least the one you wanted everyone to believe was you." Kakashi replied, "I would recommend talking to her about it soon… if you leave it for much longer it will be harder for her to understand."

"I know… I wanted to talk to her about it on the mission we went on… but things came up and I never got the chance. I care for Hinata, just not in the same way she cares for me… I need to think of a way to tell her where I won't hurt her too much." Naruto said.

"I can't help you there Naruto… in a way she is as bad as Sakura was with Sasuke… she just doesn't outwardly show it."

"She is too shy, lacking in self confidence from how her family treats her to be able to express how she feels… however… I think I should confront her before she gains the courage to tell me. It would be an even bigger hit to her confidence if after finally getting the courage to tell someone her feelings they don't share them." Naruto replied.

"Well… you have time to think about it, Kurenai and her old team left on a mission a couple hours ago and probably won't be back for a few days." Kakashi said

"I see… Thanks Kakashi-sensei. Maybe I'll ask Yugao about it." Naruto replied, earning a nod from Kakashi before deciding to go back home.

-Next morning, somewhere in the Land of Grass-

Itachi woke slowly; having spent the night outside instead of in a cave, his eyes needed time to adjust. Looking around his eyes narrows slightly, Kisame had been with him the night before, but now he was nowhere to be found, and Kisame had never walked off without telling Itachi about where he was going.

"I see you're awake now Itachi-san… that's good because we have a lot to discuss." A voice said, turning Itachi came face to face with deep purple eyes.

"Then talk, I am in the middle of hunting for the Nine Tails." Itachi said emotionlessly.

"You would do well to remember your place while talking to a god Itachi-san. I've come to let you know that you are no longer a part of the Akatsuki… I've received information recently that has made me question your loyalty towards me. Rather than take a chance I've decided to deal with you myself." Pein said as he got into a fighting stance.

_I'm not strong enough to fight Pein and come out the victor… I need to create an opportunity to get away… How could he have known I was working for Konoha though, I didn't think Tobi would tell him. _Itachi thought as he made distance between himself and the Rinnegan user, activating his Sharingan.

"The Sharingan is useless against these eyes Itachi; you cannot hope to defeat me." Pein said.

"We will see." Itachi replied before going through a set of handsigns.

"**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!**" Itachi said as he spit 6 fireballs towards the leader of the Akatsuki, who merely scoffed as he waited for them to get close.

"**Shinra Tensei.**" He said calmly as a gravitational force was pushed from his body, dissipating the fireballs Itachi had sent at him. He then charged at Itachi to engage in Taijutsu, sending a flurry of kicks and punches towards the Uchiha who, thanks to his Sharingan, was able to evade most of the attacks. Ducking a kick that was sent for his head, Itachi tried to counter with a jab to the body as he saw an opening in Pein's defence, much to Itachi's shock however, Pain spun quickly, using his left hand to swat Itachi's punch away, while using his right to punch Itachi in the face, sending him skidding backwards.

"How did you see that attack?" Itachi asked, he then tensed as he saw the five other Paths of Pein land in the clearing. Things just went from bad to worse for the Uchiha.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Itachi said as he made two clones of himself, before they went through a set of handsigns.

"**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!**" The clones said as they shot two large fireballs towards Pein, forcing the Preta path absorb one while Deva used Shinra Tensei to deflect the other.

The two clones then ran in behind the fireball, hoping to take out the Preta Path as he finished absorbing the Fireball, but were stopped by the Asura path.

"**Bunshin Baibakuha.**" Itachi said, causing the two clones to explode, creating a large layer of smoke around the clearing. Using this as an opportunity to escape, Itachi quickly made two more shadow clones before having them split off in different directions.

"It would seem he got away eh, Leader-sama." A large blue man with shark like features said as he came out of the forest after the smoke had cleared.

"It doesn't matter, he will die whether its' by my hand or someone else's." Pein replied, before a beautiful woman with blue hair landed beside him.

"What do you want us to do about him Pein?" The woman asked.

"Konan, I want you to take Kisame and track him down, I don't care how you do it just make sure you kill him. He will regret the day he tested the powers of a god." Pein said, earning a nod from Konan, who then spared a glance at the large shark-like man before taking off in the direction she felt Itachi go.

"Kisame, do not fail me, and make sure you get his ring." Pein said before using a Shunshin to leave, leaving Kisame alone in the clearing.

"So Itachi was a spy this whole time huh… This could make things interesting if he gets away." Kisame said to himself, and then left in the same direction Konan had gone a few moments before.

-Konoha, few hours later-

Tsunade was sitting behind her desk doing paperwork, when a sudden tapping sound was heard from her window, turning around she was shocked to see a large crow sitting on the other side of the window, scroll held in its beak. Tsunade opened the window before taking the scroll from the crow, which then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_That's strange… the only person I remember having a summoning contract with the crows was- _Tsunade thought, before eyes going wide and quickly opening the scroll.

"Shit!" Tsunade said, before yelling for Shizune.

"What is it Tsunade-sama." Shizune said as she entered the office.

"Get me Naruto, Yugao, Kakashi and Gai quickly, tell Kakashi this is an S ranked mission and not to be late!" she said, earning a quick nod from Shizune who sent for the people Tsunade had called for.

Five minutes later, the four Ninja Tsunade had called for were standing at attention in front of her desk.

"What did you call us here for Tsunade-sama?" Naruto asked seriously.

"I've just received an urgent message, Anbu code-name Weasel has been compromised and has requested immediate help at Anbu safe house D, located on the border of The Land of Fire and the Land of Grass." Tsunade said, making Naruto's and Kakashi's eyes widen.

"Who is weasel Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked, hearing the blonde sigh.

"Weasel is… Itachi Uchiha."

**Annnnd done… I hope you like it and hope it was worth the wait. Bee's character was hard to write because like I said, I can't rhyme worth shit. Now, I'm going to give you guys an option here, I can try to update every few days like I did when the story first came out, limiting the word count per chapter to probably between 6-7k or I can update every couple weeks and have longer chapters, probably around the 10-12k mark. So I've set up quite a few things in this chapter, a meeting between Naruto and the beautiful Konan, and also the chance for Kurenai and Naruto to get closer through training. And yes, I'm going to have Itachi return to Konoha, he is probably one of my favorite Naruto characters, and Naruto will need powerful allies for things to come. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in regards to Sasgay yet, but I've been giving it thought. There is also a reference in this chapter, if you can point it out then kudos to you, have a virtual cookie. Interesting chapter in the manga this week, we learn quite a lot about Kaguya, Madara, and Kaguya's two sons. *Spoiler alert* My thoughts were correct, Kaguya was in fact the Juubi, turned into the ten tails by the Shinji Fruit, forcing her sons to fight and seal her away. One of her sons became the sage of six paths, while the other became, *Cue drum roll* Black half of Zetsu, who in fact was manipulating Madara the entire time… Boom plot twist. So far I also seem to be correct in the notion that Naruto and Sasuke, taking the roll of Kaguya's sons, are going to have to fight and seal her away, and I'm assuming that that will create another Juubi Jinchuriki, and I'm going to guess that it will probably be Naruto getting the shit end of the stick… as usual. We also will get to see the secret Jutsu that Naruto was working on with the toads, hopefully it was worth the wait… who knows, maybe both Sasuke and Naruto will die, and we for sure won't get to see anything come from either confession, if that's the case then Kishimoto should probably go into hiding, cause he will have a lot of angry fans. *End Spoiler* Now, I also recently picked up Ea Sports UFC, and its' fairly fun for an Ea game, however I think the UFC Undisputed games were better, a little more customization options, but overall it's a good game, lots of fun and I'd recommend buying it if you like the old UFC games, I believe that it is an X box one Exclusive though. Now my other recommendations.**

** Music- Metal heads like me**

**-Arch Enemy's new album, War Eternal, is insane, pick it up… NOW**

**-Whitechapel- Our endless War, and the 2012 Self-Titled Album, probably just check out all of Whitechapel… yea check out all of it.**

**-The Unguided- Fragile Immortality**

**Non Metal**

**The new Rise Against Album is coming… omgomgomgomg**

**30 seconds to mars, This is War is probably one of my favorite songs by them**

**Imagine Dragons**

**There are probably more.. But in all honesty out of like 1800 songs I got most of em are metal… **

**Games- most aren't released yet**

**Bloodbourne Spiritual successor to the Souls series, probably gonna be a PS4 Exclusive**

**Evolve- X box one Exclusive, made by valve, the creators of L4D (I Believe)**

**Hyrule Warriors- I was really on the fence about this game when I first heard about it, watched the gameplay and it looks really, really good. Dynasty Warriors themed Legend of Zelda Game**

**Nintendo released some things about the actual new Legend of Zelda Game, and like most Zelda games I'm expecting it to be really, really good. They opened the world up to make it more like Skyrim, where you can do things how you want to do them, in the order that you want.**

**Super Smash Bros Wii U… Nuff said**

**Mario Party 10, Aka Friendship Destroyer 10**

**Fics, had a chance to read a bit in the past week**

**My precious People by Serious Sam Naru/Hina (Been a loooooong time since I read straight Naru/Hina)**

**Shinobi no Ashikabi by VFSNAKE Naruto/Sekirei crossover, Naru/Hina Harem**

**Black Knight by Plagued Ambition- Uchiha Naruto, Minato and Kushina Alive, Older Naruto, seeming like its Naruto/Yugao/Kurenai/Mei Pairing so far**

**Titan Fall by Saito Uzumaki. Naruto/Attack on Titan Crossover… seems to be going in the direction of Naru/Mikasa**

**Do I Have a Purpose Anymore- KingKakashi**

**To Really Know Someone Ncpfan, Naru/Kurenai**

**Outbreak by Elemental Shadow- Naruto/High School of the Dead crossover. Harem**

**The true Monster by Lord of The land of Fire, Naruto/Rosario+Vampire crossover, Naru/Moka**

**And that's it for now; read a lot of those a while ago before I posted this story just forgot about most of em. Anyways, I want to thank all of you who have reviewed/Favorited/Followed me and my story, over the past two weeks I've received 405 Favorites, 508 Follows, and 152 reviews, that's more than my first story has received in over a year. So thanks to each and every one of you who like my work.**

*Update, changed Konan's hair from purple to blue, fuck up on my part sorry

*Update, Changed Itachi's summons to crows not ravens, thought I got it earlier but I missed it

*Update, Few spelling errors were changed, as well as the flow of a few sentences.


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright… well I feel bad for everything that happened with having to take the story down so I'm going to pump this chapter out ASAP. After trying to update the fight scene in chapter 2 between Naruto and Asuma, the chapters for my story were put in the wrong order, and I've been having major issues with FanFiction lately in regards to Doc manager and being able to change my content from within the website. I apologize for the troubles this caused. Its' been a very long week for me, my T.V broke Monday, then work got all screwed up, then this happened… so yea. Enough of Authors Notes, time for the chapter, the first interaction between Konoha and Akatsuki, and the return of an Uchiha. For any returning readers, check out chapter 2 if you already haven't I updated the fight, which practically caused all my issues, so I hope it was damn well worth it aha!**

"B-but Itachi is a criminal, he slaughtered his clan, how could he still be working for Konoha!" Yugao said, causing Naruto to sigh.

"Yugao-chan… there are certain things pertaining to the Uchiha Massacre that are almost as big a secret as my heritage." Naruto said, he then glanced at Tsunade, who in turn nodded, knowing what Naruto wanted. "I'm going to ask both you and Gai-san to not interrupt me as I explain everything that happened prior to that night; can I get a guarantee from both of you for that?"

"Of course Naruto-kun." Yugao said, as Gai nodded his head.

"Thank you… It pretty much started during the time of the Second Hokage when Tobirama-sama created the Uchiha Police Force, and forced their clan to the outskirts of the village. Having believed they were the most powerful clan in Konoha they took it as an insult that they were forced to the outskirts of Konoha. From that point onward the Uchiha felt segregated from the rest of Konoha, they received constant suspicion and discrimination that eventually led to their hated of the village. They planned to use Itachi as a spy for the Uchiha clan, but Itachi was smarter then they though, he knew that an uprising of the Uchiha would most likely lead to another Shinobi war, so he became a double agent, telling Konoha of the Uchiha's planned coup d'état." Naruto started, surprising both Gai and Yugao, before Kakashi continued.

"Itachi was convinced by Danzo that killing his entire clan was the only viable option for stopping the rebellion, and Itachi agreed to it under the terms that Sandaime-sama would watch over and care for Sasuke. After the massacre Itachi infiltrated the Akatsuki, and has been providing Konoha with information on them ever since." Kakashi said, making Tsunade nod, confirming his explanation.

"Did Itachi manage to say who discovered him? Or who is currently following him?" Naruto asked, earning a nod from Tsunade.

"Yes, in his scroll he said that he was confronted by Pein, the supposed leader of Akatsuki, and engaged in combat till a time when he felt he could escape. He is currently being followed by Kisame and a woman named Konan." Tsunade said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.

"Fuck, that isn't good, both Konan and Kisame are extremely dangerous opponents. You all know Kisame is an ex Kiri no Shinobigatana (Seven Swordsmen of The Mist), and is nicknamed the tailless Biju for his massive chakra reserves, but Konan is someone we don't have a lot of info on. Itachi stated that she primarily uses long range Paper Ninjutsu, something she was able to create after fusing her chakra into origami creations. She is known as the Angel of Ame, and supposedly is very intelligent when it comes to combat." Naruto said, "She is also close to their leader Pein, and is usually always by his side."

"Can you tell us anything about Pein Naruto-kun?" Gai asked.

"I will tell you this once, if for whatever reason Pein is with Konan and Kisame, we will be forced to either flee, or fight to the death. Pein is the only known person who wields the Rinnegan, the legendary Dojutsu of the Sage of the Six Paths. Even fighting together our odds of winning against him are slim without knowing the full capabilities of his eyes." Naruto stated, shocking those present.

"The Rinnegan… I thought that was just a myth." Kakashi said.

"It was believed to be a myth because no one had been born with the Rinnegan since the Sage, however Itachi says he had seen it with his own eyes… and that's not something Itachi would lie about." Naruto said. "I'm going to assume you called us here so we could meet with Itachi at the extraction point right?"

"Yes, however I also called you because most of you have experience fighting with Akatsuki, or Ninja close to that calibre. Gai has fought with Kisame before, and with Yugao being a Kenjutsu expert, having them fight against Kisame would work well I think. You are both close ranged specialists, and according to our reports Kisame relies mainly on Kenjutsu, but don't let your guard down. That leaves Kakashi and Naruto to take on Konan, both of you are skilled in both long range and short range fighting, giving you an advantage in whatever way the fight turns out." Tsunade said, earning nods from the group. "Naruto, since you have the most experience with Akatsuki I want you to lead this mission, should things go south during the mission, your main priority will be to get Itachi back to Konoha safely, we will deal with everything else then alright?"

"Hai, should things go bad, I'll send a toad in advance to let you know what is going on. Hopefully we will be able to get Itachi out without having to fight. If we are forced to fight hopefully we will be able to make them retreat, with Itachi helping us that shouldn't be too much of an issue. That being said, I'm going to get Itachi to help Yugao and Gai fight Kisame, having been partnered with him Itachi would know of his fighting style, as well as any weaknesses he has." Naruto said.

"Whatever you think is best Naruto-kun, you should all get moving though, it will be a few days trip to get to the Border of Fire Country where Itachi is going." Tsunade said

-With Itachi-

Itachi flinched as he felt the first of his clones pop out of existence. Konan had been… less than friendly… about taking care of him, and judging by the look on her face the clone saw before dispersing she was anything but pleased. While dealing with Konan herself probably wouldn't have been an issue for the older Uchiha, he knew Kisame was with her as well, tilting the scales in their favour should a confrontation happen. He just hoped his message had reached Konoha, and that Tsunade would send him suitable back up. The clone had managed to lead Konan and Kisame a fair amount of distance away from the real him, but if they were to catch on the his actual trail he would only have a few days before they caught up with him. Giving a sigh he stood up, stretching his body after the short break he had taken, before continuing on his way towards the border of the Land of Fire. He had had a feeling that Tobi knew about him still being loyal to Konoha and working undercover in the Akatsuki, the masked man may have acted like an incompetent fool but Itachi knew he was not someone to be provoked.

_ If Tobi knew I was a double agent, he would have known for a long time… why would he wait till now to bring that fact to light, something must have happened to force his hand._ Itachi thought, something big was happening, and he hoped he would be able to find the answers back in Konoha.

-Few days later-

Naruto and his team were on guard as they approached the Anbu safe house from the cover of the forest. Stopping at the edge of the clearing Naruto turned his head to Yugao before flashing a through a few Anbu handsigns, sending her a silent message. Nodding towards her blonde teammate, Yugao closed her eyes and sent out a few waves of her chakra, looking for any signs of Itachi, or the two that had been following him.

"I only sense one presence Naruto-kun. Its' already inside the safe house, so I'm going to assume its Itachi." Yugao said, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Alright, I agree that it's most likely Itachi, but don't let your guard down. Yugao-chan, keep your senses alert even after we go inside, let me know immediately if you sense anyone outside. I'll go in first; Yugao-chan will be behind me, followed by Gai with Kakashi-sensei bringing up the rear. This safe house is still in operation, so be wary of traps." Naruto said, earning a collective nod before they left the cover of the treeline and made their way towards the entrance. Naruto's hand went towards the entrance but stopped as he felt a presence from right behind the door, tensing and preparing for the worst; Naruto retracted his hand and watched as the door opened to reveal Itachi.

"Hello again Naruto-kun, I'm kind of surprised Tsunade-sama would send you here, I told her two high level Akatsuki members were after me." Itachi said emotionlessly as he stepped out of the bunker, no longer wearing his Akatsuki robes.

"I see you took some of the supplies that were left here." Naruto said as he gazed at Itachi who was dressed in a standard Anbu uniform minus the mask. "As for why I was sent here… I'm not the same person I was the last time you saw me Weasel."

"I see… if you know that name then you must have been in Anbu, fairly high ranking as well." Itachi said, if he was surprised he didn't really show it.

"Maybe I was… Maybe I wasn't you will have to wait until we return to Konoha to get information like that." Naruto said.

"It would appear so. I'd recommend leaving as soon as possible, after escaping from Pein I created a couple shadow clones in hopes that they would lead Konan and Kisame away, one was dispelled a couple days ago, the other one ran out of chakra and dispelled on its own, leading me to believe that Konan and Kisame have found my actual trail." Itachi said, earning a nod from Naruto before a voice stopped them all.

"It took me a while to find you Itachi-san; it would appear that Konoha was able to send help. That won't make a difference, you will die here today." A woman said as she landed in the clearing, large wings made of paper formed out of her back.

"Konan-san, if you are here then I'd guess Kisame isn't too far behind." Itachi said, as if on cue a large blue man stepped out into the clearing.

"It's a shame you had to betray the Akatsuki Itachi-san; I really enjoyed being your partner." Kisame said with a toothy grin, showing off his shark like fangs. "It would seem Konoha sent some high level Shinobi to assist you, including the Kyuubi Jinchuriki… the brat sure has grown since the last time I saw him."

"Itachi, I want you to help Yugao and Gai fight Kisame, the three of you together should be able to either kill him or seriously wound him. Kakashi and I will deal with Konan." Naruto said, earning a nod before the group split off to fight their respective opponents.

-With Naruto and Kakashi-

Naruto and Kakashi raced through the trees, hoping to lead Konan away from the others so they could focus on their fight with Kisame without having to worry about Konan interfering. Landing in a clearing a short distance away, Naruto and Kakashi stood back to back, waiting for Konan to make her move. They didn't have to wait long as a hail of Paper Kunai rained in from above, forcing them to use Kawarimi to dodge. Looking up they saw Konan hovering slightly above the treeline, face set into a deep frown.

"I didn't expect Konoha to send their Jinchuriki, along with Sharingan no Kakashi, this could complicate things. I'll have to take care of you both quickly and help Kisame with Itachi." Konan said as she floated down to the ground and got into an offensive stance.

"Don't think that you will be able to defeat us so easily Konan-san." Naruto replied as he unsealed his Ninjato while Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan eye. They stood across from each other unmoving, almost as if they were sizing each other up. On an unspoken marker Konan flew towards Naruto, who smirked as he pumped some Katon chakra through the blade, giving it a light red glow. Naruto slid under the paper kunai Konan had slashed at him with as thrust his sword up into her paper wing, detaching it from the rest of her body as she fell towards the ground, tumbling a few times before coming to a stop against a tree.

Picking herself up off the ground Konan spit a bit of blood out of her mouth before releasing her still intact wing. Glaring at Naruto she made a few Kami Bunshins (Paper Clones) and sent two of them towards Kakashi, while she engaged Naruto again with the other following close behind.

-With Itachi and the others-

Yugao, Gai and Itachi stood in a triangle pattern surrounding Kisame, who in turn just stood there with a smirk on his face.

"Samehada is hungry Itachi-san, I've spent years studying the way you fight, figuring out way to beat you, today is when I will get see how far I've come!" Kisame said as he pulled the large sword off his back, before the bandages fell to the side, revealing the large scaly sword. "She has wanted to taste your chakra for a very long time now."

"I don't think I need to tell either of you to be careful from here-on-out, Kisame is one of Akatsuki's strongest members. Be wary of his sword Samehada as well, it's a sentient sword that eats chakra; growing in size at it does so. This fight would be best fought close quarters, but don't let his sword get too close or it will expand and he will be able to shave the skin off your bones with it." Itachi said as his onyx eyes turned Sharingan red, Yugao and Gai nodded before assuming their respected offensive stances.

Gai was the first to move, rushing at Kisame from behind hoping to catch the large man off guard with a quick series of jabs and kicks. Kisame was ready however and used Samehada to block Gai's attacks before swinging the large sword in a horizontal arc, attempting to shatter a few ribs. Gai was ready for this however, and dropped low to the ground as the large sword missed overhead, before using both hands to propel himself into an up-kick that Kisame barely managed to dodge moving his head back at the last second. Kisame then grabbed onto one of Gai's legs before throwing him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground. Gai rolled out of the way as Kisame brought his foot down, creating a small indent where his head had just been, before distancing himself from the large shark-like man; attempting to regain the breath he had lost being slammed.

"I won't be forced to retreat like the last time we fought." Kisame said as he looked at Gai, causing the green clad Jounin to raise an eyebrow at the declaration.

"We've fought before?" Gai asked, causing Kisame, and to a lesser extent Itachi, to sweatdrop.

"All brawns no brains it would seem." Kisame said to himself before being forced to duck under a slash Yugao had sent at the back of his head.

"It's not very nice to sneak up on people like that when they are talking." Kisame said as he attempted to sweep Yugao's legs out from under her before engaging her in Kenjutsu, pushing the smaller woman back with his powerful strikes.

Ducking and weaving between Kisame's strikes, Yugao waited patiently for an opening to use her speed for a counter attack. The moment came when Kisame made a rookie mistake by overextending his reach with a stab, enabling Yugao to duck around the large man leaving a large horizontal cut across his gut. The gain in momentum was only temporary however, as Yugao found Kisame's foot planted in her gut as he landed a heavy back kick and sent her skidding across the ground.

Kisame smirked as he turned towards Itachi.

"The beast with no brain is still trying to catch his breath, while the pretty little Kenjutsu user probably won't be getting up for a little while, looks like it's just you and me now partner." Kisame said with a toothy grin as he rested Samehada on his shoulder.

"Indeed." Itachi replied emotionlessly as he un-sheathed the Ninjato strapped across his back. It had been a while since he used this particular weapon but he hoped it would be enough.

"That puny blade won't work against Samehada for long, and I know to avoid looking at your Sharingan Itachi-san, you may be able to catch others off guard but it won't be as easy with me!" Kisame said as he charged at Itachi.

"You don't have to look in to my eyes for them to be effective; I can still sense where your movements are coming from." Itachi said as he sidestepped a large downward slash, before slashing Kisame across the arm. Using his speed Itachi disappeared from Kisame's vision, reappearing behind him and leaving a large diagonal slash along his back before quickly disappearing again. Growling Kisame did a complete 360 with Samehada, hoping to catch Itachi as he reappeared, much to his surprise though; Itachi reappeared momentarily on top of Samehada, before Kisame felt a sharp pain in his gut. Looking behind him he saw a smirking Yugao, Ninjato blade deep in the small of his back, causing his eyes to widen slightly before coughing up blood.

"You made a rookie mistake Kisame, believing an enemy was incapacitated without solid proof, and now you're going to pay for it." Itachi said, bringing Kisame's attention back to the older Uchiha; who was still standing atop Samehada, tip of his Ninjato poised to strike at Kisame's jugular.

"Heh…" Kisame breathed out heavily, "It would seem that even after all these years…. Your still stronger than me eh Itachi-san."

"In a one on one fight it might have ended differently, but you were at a disadvantage from the start, fighting against two a ranked Shinobi as well as myself, you should not have come here Kisame." Itachi said, but his eyes narrowed when he saw Kisame smirk.

"Whoever said the fight was finished." Kisame said before dropping Samehada, throwing Itachi off balance, and quickly spun to knock Yugao away again.

"It was fun Itachi-san, but you should know it won't be that easy to defeat me." Kisame said before gathering a large amount of chakra.

"**Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!**" Kisame shouted as he spit out a large amount of water before going through another set of handsigns.

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**" Kisame shouted as a large torrent of water shot towards Yugao and Itachi, who quickly picked Gai up and got out of the way.

"It would seem this fight is over Yugao-san, we should wait for Naruto-kun and Kakashi-san to return." Itachi said as he looked out over the clearing, not seeing any traces of Kisame.

"I agree with Itachi-san, the two of us are in no condition to fight Yugao-san." Gai said from his seated position, "I trust in both Kakashi and Naruto-kun, they will be fine."

-With Naruto-

"It would seem that Kisame was forced to flee Konan-san, I would recommend doing the same." Naruto said as he destroyed another one of Konon's Kami Bunshins with his Ninjato.

"Kisame was fighting against not only Itachi, but two other high ranked Konoha shinobi as well, I've got both you and Kakashi-san separated and that gives me the advantage." Konan replied as she sent a few exploding kunai towards Naruto. "While I will admit the information we had on you was off, you have not shown me anything that leads me to believe you will defeat me."

Naruto smirked as he used Kawarimi to get out of way of the exploding Kunai before going through his next set of handsigns.

"**Kiri Gakure no Jutsu**" He said, creating a thick layer of mist that covered the clearing.

"It's a shame that you have fallen so far since being Jiraiya's student Konan-san." Naruto said through the mist, causing Konan's eyes to widen. "I don't think this is the path he wanted you three to go down. I know that Pein is just Nagato's puppet, but what happened to Yahiko, Jiraiya said there were three of you, but from Itachi's information there are only two of you left."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Konan said, causing Naruto to scoff.

"Don't play dumb with me Konan; I know exactly who you are. Orphans from the Second Shinobi war, Jiraiya found you three and instead of killing you like his teammate Orochimaru suggested decided to train you three. He had hoped that with Nagato's Rinnegan he would be the child of prophecy that the elder toad had told him about… but it looks like Nagato has succumbed to darkness and is now going down the path of self-destruction." Naruto said, earning a snarl from Konan.

"How dare you speak of Nagato like that! You have no idea what we went through as children. Yahiko's dream was to create a world of peace, but when he died Nagato took over his dream and is working on fulfilling it." Konan replied through the mist.

"By gathering all the Biju to create a weapon of mass destruction, I may have been an idiot before Konan but even I know that creating a weapon like that will do anything but bring peace to this world." Naruto replied as he appeared behind Konan, slicing the back of her knee causing her to drop to one knee. "I also know how the two of you came into power in Ame, destroying a major part of the village in your fight with Hanzo, killing lots of innocent families. Since then Nagato has ruled Ame like a tyrant, he may have freed the people from Hanzo, but they still live in fear of him."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Konan shouted as she tried to stand; only to be struck down again Naruto buried his fist in her stomach.

"I know more than you think Konan-san, I'm not going to kill you, but when you return to Ame take a walk around the village… Not as the "Angel" as they so appropriately call you, but use a henge and go as a regular civilian, interact with the people and see what they think of your glorious leaders rule." Naruto said, and Konan couldn't help but blush lightly at Naruto's choice of words about her nickname. "While you're doing that, think about what kind of weapon Nagato is currently trying to build, its' a weapon of mass destruction, not a weapon of peace, what good would a world without wars be if there is no one alive to enjoy it."

"You know nothing of peace." Konan spat.

"You're absolutely right, I don't know what peace is, nor do I know how to achieve it." Naruto started, "But I have people who believe that I will be able to achieve it, and I can't let my friends down. One last word of advice Konan-san, be wary of the man with the spiral mask, he is not who he seems to be. There are larger powers at work in this world, and as of right now, Akatsuki is the least of my worries."

That was the last thing Konan heard and her world went black as Naruto delivered a quick chop to the back of her neck before ending his hidden mist jutsu. Letting out a sigh Naruto expanded his senses, locating Kakashi and the rest of the group back in the clearing they found Itachi in. Naruto used a Shunshin to get to the clearing quickly, before doing a quick once over of his team. Kakashi seemed a little tired and had a few cuts and bruises around his body; Yugao was breathing a little heavy and holding her side, while both Gai and Itachi seemed to be somewhat ok.

"How did it go Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"It went fine, we fought a bit, I talked to her about a few things, then I left her unconscious with a message to deliver to Pein, and hopefully a lot on her mind to think about." Naruto replied, "We should get back to Konoha though, we can discuss everything else there."

-3 Days Later, Konoha-

After sneaking Itachi in relatively easily, Naruto and his team could be found standing in front of Tsunade, reporting how their mission went.

"So… let me get this straight, you three." Tsunade started, pointing at Gai, Yugao and Itachi, "Fought Kisame and forced him to retreat."

"Hai Tsunade-sama." Yugao clarified.

"While the two of you fought Konan and a few of her clones." She continued, pointing at Naruto and Kakashi, "Kakashi was able to end the fight relatively unscathed from what you told me, You decided to let her live in hopes that she would deliver a message to Pein, and to think about what you told her?"

"Errr… Yea." Naruto said, hearing it from Tsunade it really didn't sound like the best plan ever, but he had his reasons for it.

"I can't think of a reason why you would do something like that… on second thought, I don't want to know." Tsunade said with a sigh, "I'm getting to old for this shit."

"In all honesty Tsunade-sama, Konan didn't come across as an evil person… she is blindly following her last remaining friend as he is going down a dark path, leading her to do the same. I wanted her to take my advice in hopes of… pushing her… so to say, back on the path that Jiraiya had hoped they would go on; whether or not she does is up to her, I will not spare her a second time should another fight between us occur." Naruto said.

"Make sure that you don't brat. Now we just need to figure out what to do about you Itachi." Tsunade said as she looked at the older Uchiha, "there are two ways we can do this… we can tell the village about the planned coup d'état, and the roll that you played in making sure it didn't happen. You would probably be welcomed back as a hero. If you do not want the village to know about it, then it won't be as easy, I could probably get the sentence brought down from execution to jail time, but I couldn't guarantee how long it would last." Tsunade said.

"I would prefer to not let the village know about what really happened that night… The Uchiha Clan had fallen far enough from grace before I killed them, but my other option isn't that great either, the most likely case is I would be thrown in jail and have my chakra sealed off until I was released, making me unable to serve the village." Itachi replied, earning a nod from Tsunade.

"May I suggest something Tsunade-sama?" Naruto asked.

"Of course Naruto-kun." Tsunade replied.

"I suggest leaving the announcement of Itachi's return to the village until I've been named the new Uzumaki clan head, after that you can explain to the village and the council that Itachi came back willingly and that I've taken him as my responsibility." Naruto explained.

"The council still won't like that; they will probably argue that he came back in an attempt to kill you, or someone else, before disappearing again." Tsunade said, receiving a nod from Naruto.

"Alright… then how about this, the Uzumaki clan has a seal similar to the caged bird seal that the Hyuuga use, however I'm able to link it directly to a certain part of the person's body. If I was to say… link it to Itachi's heart, I would be able to kill him without a second glance should something happen. Itachi is loyal to this village, that much is certain, but the council and civilians will still be in fear of him, with my seal it will at least give them a means of security. It would also be safe to assume that the council would want Itachi close to me as much as possible, so he would probably be coming on missions with me, as well as being a temporary resident in my compound." Naruto said, "And before you ask, the only person able to use a seal that has been placed is the person who has placed it, so Itachi will not have to worry about someone else trying to kill him."

"That could work… how do you feel about it Itachi?" Tsunade asked.

"Having to have the seal placed would be less than satisfactory, but from what I've seen so far, Naruto-kun has grown in leaps and bounds since I last saw him and I'm willing place my trust in him… Given my other options I don't really have much of a choice if I want to still be an active part of Konoha's shinobi forces anyways." Itachi said, earning a nod from Tsunade.

"Alright, well I will call a council meeting in a few days then, just lay low till then. Naruto's compound should have everything you need to last a few days, training grounds included." Tsunade said before she dismissed the five of them.

"C'mon Itachi, might as well show you your new hideout for the next few days." Naruto said as he grabbed Itachi's shoulder and left via Shunshin, followed shortly by Yugao.

"So..." Tsunade started, "Either of you want to make a bet on when Yugao or Naruto will confess their feelings for one-another?" Tsunade asked with a smirk.

"Hopefully not long, Tsunade-sama… I think it would be good for the both of them." Kakashi replied with Gai nodding in agreement.

-With Naruto-

Naruto and Itachi appeared just inside the gate of his compound, and not being one for admiring scenery Itachi requested being shown to his room right away. After putting his things away Naruto gave Itachi a quick tour of the house and the yard, making sure Itachi knew where each of the training fields was located.

"Well… that's pretty much it Itachi, if you need anything else just ask me or Yugao. Breakfast is usually prepared around eight am, and supper is usually around six, depending on if we have a mission or not." Naruto said, after receiving a nod from Itachi he set out to find Yugao, who he had felt enter shortly after arriving with Itachi.

"Yugao-chan are you in here?" Naruto asked as he knocked on the door, not getting a reply but hearing a slight rustling in the room he opened the door, only to go rigid in shock. On the far side of the room, Yugao was bent over rummaging through something in her drawer in nothing but a wet towel that left almost nothing to the imagination. Naruto's eyes trailed up from the floor, following Yugao's long silky smooth legs right up to her heart shaped rear end. As Yugao straightened up Naruto noticed how her long purple hair flowed to the small of her back, and he had to admit that it looked a lot better let down. Then she turned, going as stock still as Naruto had, giving him time to take in her beautiful curvy figure from the front; taking in the way her breasts bounced slightly from her sudden stop, before looking up to her beautiful face that had gone a shade of red not even Hinata could match.

"N-NARUTOOOOOOOO!" Yugao yelled, breaking Naruto out of his trance.

"Ah fuck I'm sorry Yugao-chan, I had no idea!" Naruto shouted as he dodged the various amount of things Yugao found to throw at him.

_Where the fuck did she pull that sword from?_ He thought to himself as a Ninjato imbedded itself in the wall directly behind him.

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you were staring at me in nothing but a towel!" Yugao argued.

"I said I was sorry, I was just captivated by your beauty that's all!" Naruto said honestly, causing Yugao to stop throwing things and blush once again.

"R-really?" She stammered out.

"Yea… I didn't know you had just gotten out of the shower, I just wanted to know if you wanted to train or something." Naruto said, "I'll be downstairs whenever your dressed come find me and we can talk."

"S-sure, but you owe me for this Naruto-kun." Yugao said. Naruto just waved it off and left, leaving a flustered Yugao alone in her room.

_H-He said I was beautiful…_

-Sometime later-

After Yugao had gotten dressed, the two of them decided to waste a little time doing a little Kenjutsu practice; and after nursing the numerous cuts and lacerations Yugao had left over his body Naruto had offered to take her for a walk around Konoha in the early evening light, eventually winding up on the Yondaime's head. The two of them laid there in relative silence as they gazed up towards the sky as the stars began to line the night sky.

"You know…" Yugao started, gaining Naruto's attention, "Aside from that little stunt you had walking in on me earlier, I had a lot of fun this afternoon Naruto-kun, thank you."

"You aren't going to forget that for a while are you?" Naruto sighed out, earning a slight giggle from Yugao as she shook her head. "Whatever… I'm glad that you did, because I did to, it's been a long time since we have been able to hang out like this…"

"Yea…" Yugao said, in the Anbu they hardly had time to hang out as just regular friends with all the missions and training they were forced to do, but she had always enjoyed the moments of peace they had managed to share over the past three years.

"Hey Yugao-chan, can I ask you something?" Naruto said.

"Of course Naruto-kun."

"I need to talk to Hinata about how I feel, but I don't know how to tell her without destroying what little confidence she has left." Naruto started, "While we were never really talked during my time in the academy, I still consider her a friend. I want to let her down her down without hurting her too much."

"I think that… no matter how you tell her, you are going to hurt her." Yugao started, causing Naruto to sigh, "That girl, whatever her reasons may be, has devoted herself to you. I watched as she used to follow you everywhere when the two of you were younger, she watched as your hard work and determination overcame the obstacles in your early life, and I think that she wanted to eventually be like you, in hopes that she would gain your attention and would return her feelings."

"I see… I don't know what to do Yugao-chan… I've faced S ranked criminal after S ranked criminal and never faltered… but when it comes to girls I turn into a complete idiot." Naruto said, causing Yugao to giggle at his antics.

"I'm sure you will find a way Naruto-kun, you always do." Yugao said with a smile.

"Thanks Yugao-chan." Naruto said, earning a nod from said purple haired woman, before she slid a little closer to Naruto and rested her head on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat.

"W-what are you doing Yugao-chan?" Naruto stammered as he stiffened slightly at the feeling of Yugao's head on his chest, earning another giggle from her. Looking up Yugao noticed the slight red hue on Naruto's cheeks, and after a moment of hesitation decided to go one step further as she reached up and cupped Naruto's cheek, earning a curios look from the blonde before his eyes widened as he felt her lips press against his. It took Naruto a few moments to realize what was going on, but as soon as he did he returned the kiss, making Yugao smile on the inside. The kiss held no lust, no want, just years of pent up emotions, no words were needed to describe what the two of them were feeling, the kiss was doing that better than words ever could.

"Does this mean that…" Naruto started, but was stopped as Yugao put a finger up against his lips.

"I want to take this slow Naruto-kun, I'm not sure what I feel for you right now, but I don't want to miss this chance. For now… lets' just enjoy this." Yugao said as she placed her head back on his chest, a soft smile graced her lips as she felt Naruto wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his body.

_Yea… I could get used to this._ They both thought.

**Annnnd done, I really wanted to get this chapter out either last Thursday of Friday, but for some reason the fight scene took a hell of a long time for me to get right… Originally I had Kisame die, then I was like Nah, Kisame is a BAMF, he deserves to have a better death then what I had, plus after watching his first fight with Gai he forced him to open the sixth gate at only 30% power so it didn't seem that realistic. I know I didn't focus a lot on the Konan fight, it was never really my intention to spend a lot of time, and I wanted Naruto to use her as a message to Pein that he wasn't one to be defeated so easily. At the same time though since I'm most likely going to be writing Konan in as the final pairing, I wanted a bit of their interaction to be him giving her reasons to doubt Pein, either way I've got how they will end up down already, and that will come later. Got some Naru/Yugao fluff at the end as well… No this doesn't mean they are dating yet, and while both Naruto and Yugao feel something akin to love for each other they are both afraid to show it, I've got the path leading up to a confession already planned out, and I hope you guys enjoy the ride. I had to do a lot of research into both Konan and Kisame's characters for the fights, so I hope they both seemed believable. Naruto walking in on Yugao was a spur of the moment thought I had because while I want my story to be a serious one, there has to be a little fun thrown in there as well. I don't really think I did a good job of describing Yugao, so let me know what you thought of that, and any pointers you might have as readers to help me better get my descriptions across. Anything else I might have missed feel free to chew me out in either the reviews or over PMs. Not sure when the next chapter will be coming out, I'm going back on shift tomorrow but I'll get it out to you guys as soon as I can, so until then take er easy and stay safe! The talk with Hinata will come next chapter, I felt that this was an appropriate place to end this chapter without having to drag it on with another 3-4k word count, most of you should know I don't write crazy long chapters like that.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone and welcome to the next installment of this fanfic. Got a few positive reviews from the last chapter which I enjoyed… however, more reviews letting me know what you guys like and don't like would be appreciated, without any of you readers it would be pointless for me to continue writing so thanks for giving me a chance. I also don't mind giving you guys a say in certain aspects that go into my story, if you guys want to see Naruto use a certain type of weapon, or a certain arc from the anime make it in, or even an original arc that you guys think would be cool send me a pm or leave a review and we can talk. I try to respond to all my reviews whether its' just saying thank you or discussing mistakes I made or things I could change to make me a better writer. There are certain things I obviously won't change, which are the main pairings, and major parts of the story that lead to Naruto's character development both on a personal level and relationship wise. A lot of people liked how I planted seeds of doubt in Konan's head, whether or not she takes Naruto's advice is yet to be seen, I will show a little of Konan's return to Ame this chapter probably. Last thing is I got a lot of positive feedback on the ending scene between Naruto and Yugao so thanks for that, I've never written anything quite that… fluffy … so to speak, and I was unsure of how it would turn out. Originally the kiss and talk about Hinata never made it into the chapter but I'm glad I changed my mind and it worked out in the end.**

Naruto woke later than usual the next morning, having gotten in fairly late from his time spent with Yugao on the monument he felt as though he needed the little extra sleep. Walking into the bathroom Naruto's mind flashed to the day before, walking in in Yugao after her shower, training with her, then proceeding to spend the rest of the day with her leading up to the talk about Hinata and finally the kiss. After that they had laid there in relative silence, gazing up at the stars until Yugao fell asleep on Naruto's chest, which in turn prompted the young man to carry her back to his estate before placing her gently on her bed in an attempt to not awaken her. Unfortunately for Naruto, sleep was not as easy for him to claim as it had been Yugao, and he spent a few more hours thinking over everything that had happened with Yugao. He had a lot of questions for his long-time friend and team mate, and he was hoping he would get some answers over breakfast.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Naruto dressed in regular civilian clothing before heading downstairs. Expanding his senses he felt Itachi training in the back yard, while he could feel Yugao was still in her room, or at least in her private bath, he couldn't really tell exactly. Sighing to himself he made his way to the kitchen, putting a kettle on the stove for coffee and taking out the needed ingredients for breakfast. Naruto cracked a couple eggs into a plastic bowl before adding milk and whisking it all together and pouring it into a frying pan, letting it sit while he placed strips of bacon in another pan. He had been so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't feel or hear Yugao come into the kitchen, stopping and watching as the blonde scrambled the eggs, while at the same time making sure not to burn the bacon. A small smile graced her lips as she watched him prepare enough for three, before dishing out an equal amount on separate plates and placing them on the table.

"Mhm… that smells delicious Naruto-kun." Yugao said as she made her presence known, startling the blonde slightly.

"Ah Yugao-chan you startled me!" Naruto said, "how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." She replied with a smirk as she took her seat at the table, followed shortly by Naruto. "How did I get home, the last thing I remember is cuddling with you after the kiss, then I woke up in my bed."

"Well…. You eventually fell asleep on me." Naruto started, earning a slight blush of embarrassment from Yugao, "after that I carried you here and put you in your bed before going to sleep myself."

"S-sorry for making you carry me here Naruto-kun, you could have woken me up." Yugao stuttered, her blush deepening a bit.

"Nah, it wasn't a big deal Yugao-chan, you looked so peaceful and beautiful sleeping I couldn't bring myself to wake you up." Naruto said, before his eyes widened and he realised he said a little more than he meant to.

"You know…" Yugao started, "that's the second time you have called me beautiful in as many days Naruto-kun."

"S-sorry." Naruto said, making a frown appear on Yugao's face.

"For what?"

"I don't know… Everything I guess, calling you beautiful, the kiss, I know you still upset over Hayate bu-"

*Slap*

"Don't apologize for anything!" Yugao started, hands trembling, "I love it when you call me beautiful, it makes me feel something inside I haven't felt since Hayate-kun died. I may still be upset over his death, but the death of a loved one is not something that can be easily forgotten or stored away, but that doesn't mean I can't move on."

"Yugao-chan I'm-" Naruto started, but a wave from Yugao cut him off.

"T-the kiss was my idea…" She started softly, "I don't know why I did it, I was scared… that you wouldn't accept me or that you wouldn't return it and I would have ruined the friendship that we built up over the years. I don't know what this feeling is Naruto-kun… But you have helped me in so many ways over the past three years and been there for me when I needed you. I-if you would have me… I want to try and pursue a relationship with you."

"A-are you sure Yugao-chan? If you're not ready it can wait." Naruto said. Yugao smiled at his thoughtful gesture but shook her head.

"I'm sure Naruto-kun. I can't think of anyone else I would rather want to pursue this with." Yugao replied with a small smile.

"Well…" Naruto started with a small smile, "I wouldn't be much of a gentleman to refuse you now would I?"

"Idiot." Yugao said as she practically jumped over the table and embraced Naruto, "you shouldn't say yes just because I want this."

"I know, and I'm not. I would be lying if I said I didn't find you attractive Yugao-chan, you're a beautiful and strong Kunoichi, you've been a constant in my life whether it was when I was younger or when we were in Anbu together. I had developed somewhat of a crush on you when I was younger, and through our years in Anbu it grew into something more… but I didn't want to act on it because I saw how upset you still were over Hayate. I decided a long time ago that regardless of what I was to you I didn't like to see you cry, and that I would try to break you out of the depression you were in." Naruto said softly as he rubbed Yugao's back, "seems like that's sorta worked out huh?"

Yugao didn't say anything, as she didn't trust herself to not breakdown and cry on Naruto's chest; instead she just nodded her head, her emotions being calmed by the soothing feel of Naruto's hand rubbing her back.

"Yugao-chan… what about my position as clan head though? It's highly likely the council will want me to take part in the CRA and I don't want either of my parent's clans to die with me." Naruto asked after Yugao had calmed down.

"I-I know about the CRA Naruto-kun, as long as you find women who care about you and not what clan your from I'm ok with it. I already know a couple women who have taken a slight interest in you… You just have to look around." Yugao replied.

"Kakashi-sensei said the same thing… Thanks Yugao-chan." Naruto said, "We should probably finish breakfast before Itachi comes in from training, I've got a few things I want to do today… starting with Hinata."

"Alright Naruto-kun, I wanted to see if Kurenai or Anko were around today anyways." Yugao replied, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Since Jiraiya isn't in town you should take your friends to the Hot Springs here in Konoha, my treat." Naruto said, earning a grateful nod from Yugao, "I was actually going to go to Team Eight's training ground after breakfast to see if I could catch up with both Hinata and Kurenai, feel free to come with me if you want."

"That would save me the hassle of having to look for Kurenai later on Naruto-kun, so I think I'll come with you." Yugao replied. "Just give me a few minutes after breakfast to get ready and we can leave, I don't think she has the day off so we should catch her team just as they are finishing up their morning routine."

"Sounds good, I've got a few things to do before I leave anyways." Naruto replied.

Breakfast from that point was eaten in relative silence, Yugao offering compliments on Naruto's cooking every so often along with Itachi who had come in a few minutes earlier. Finishing breakfast Naruto created a few clones and had them gather the dishes before bringing them to the kitchen and washing them while he and Yugao went upstairs to get ready for their day. Being a day off for Naruto he decided to change into a set of black slacks with a blue t-shirt that had the Uzumaki clan's swirl on the back. Pumping a bit of chakra into one of the seals located on his hand his Ninjato appeared quickly and Naruto swung it around a few times before nodding to himself and sealing it back inside his hand, one could never be too careful. Naruto spotted Yugao coming out of her room as he made his way towards his estates entrance and couldn't help the small red hue that appeared on his face. Yugao had the same choice as Naruto and decided to dress in civilian clothing, picking out a deep purple spring dress with lavender trim.

"I didn't know you had any dresses like that Yugao-chan." Naruto said, earning the purple haired woman's attention.

"I-it's something Hayate bought for me when we were dating, this is the first time I've worn it in over 3 years." Yugao replied with a sad smile.

"Sorry Yugao-chan, I didn't mean to bring that up." Naruto replied but was waved off from Yugao.

"It's alright Naruto-kun."

"Alright Yugao-chan, if you want I can give you some money and you can go shopping later as well."

"Are you sure Naruto-kun? I mean I've got plenty of money left from all the missions we did in Anbu…" Yugao said before Naruto stopped her.

"I'm sure Yugao-chan, I got a lot of money from my parents, as well as everything that was left from missions I did. I don't mind spending my money on you, isn't that what boyfriends do?" Naruto replied with a sly smirk.

"I guess so…" Yugao said with a small smile before taking Naruto's arm and leading him down the stairs. "You can woe me with your words later; we need to get to the training ground before Kurenai-chan and her team leave."

-Team Eight's Training Ground-

"You guys did really well today." Kurenai said as she gazed across at her team. Having just finished morning training they had decided to relax by the training grounds small pond. "Even though you technically aren't my students anymore I'm still proud at the improvements you've made since becoming Chunin and Jonin."

"Hehe… it's not that big of a deal Kurenai-sensei." Kiba replied, and then sniffed the air as he got a whiff of a familiar scent. "Naruto seems to be approaching from the other side of the training ground Kurenai-sensei; maybe he's coming to ask about his offer to train you."

"I don't know Kiba; I can sense someone else with him as well." Kurenai said, "Maybe he is just passing through."

A few moments later Team Eight watched as Naruto and Yugao dropped down into the training ground.

"Hey there Kurenai-chan." Yugao said as she walked towards them, arm still linked with Naruto's, earning surprised and saddened looks from her team.

"Hey Yugao-chan, it seems you've finally decided to move on." Kurenai said with a small smile, earning a nod from her friend.

"Yea… it took a while, and I kinda had to make the first move but it all worked out." Yugao replied as she brought herself a little closer to Naruto.

"I woulda made the first move if had known you liked me!" Naruto argued back, "I didn't want to say anything then ruin the friendship we had by making it awkward."

"Right right…" Yugao replied sarcastically.

"So what did you two come here for?" Kurenai asked, "Did you come to talk about your offer Naruto?"

"Well not really… I need to discuss a few things with someone." Naruto said, earning a nod from Kurenai. "But if you have an answer for me I'd love to hear it."

"I-I'd like for you to help me with Taijutsu and Ninjutsu." Kurenai said, "And if you could… my stamina and chakra reserves as well."

"That shouldn't be a problem Kurenai; those are my areas of expertise after all." Naruto said, "You won't be able to reach my chakra and stamina levels for obvious reasons, but I'll be able to get you up to Yugao-chan's level at least."

"Thank you Naruto." Kurenai replied with a grateful smile, receiving a nod from said blonde.

"Ah Kurenai-chan, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the hot springs after? We can invite Anko and Hana as well, Naruto's treat." Yugao asked her friend.

"Uhm… Sure, but I can pay for myself." Kurenai replied, not really wanting Naruto to be spending money on her.

"I insist Kurenai; any friends of Yugao-chan are friends of mine so I really don't mind." Naruto spoke up, "now the training will have to wait a few days till after the next council meeting as there are… certain things going on at my compound that few people are allowed to know right now. So I will find you or ask Yugao-chan to get you when things have settled down alright?"

"Uhh… Sure." Kurenai replied, a little interested in what Naruto was hiding but wouldn't push the issue.

"So… now that that's done I need to talk to Hinata about a few things." Naruto said, earning a surprised look and light blush from the shy girl.

"W-what a-about N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stammered.

"Uh… well its' kind of private so I would prefer if we talked somewhere else if that's okay with you." Naruto said, earning a nod from Hinata. "Good, I want you to meet me on top of the Hokage monument in a few minutes."

"A-alright Naruto-kun." Hinata said before making a hand sign and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Alright, Yugao-chan I will see you back at the compound later, have fun with your friends." Naruto said, "Don't hesitate to buy anything you may need as well."

"Naruto wait!" Kiba shouted before Naruto could disappear.

"What do you need Kiba?" He asked.

"I-I'm sorry for how I treated you before. You are my friend and I let my pride get in the way, I shouldn't have acted like I did." Kiba said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it Kiba. If you ever need a sparring partner feel free to seek me out. Now, I've got something that I need to deal with." Naruto said before disappearing to the Hokage monument.

"What is he going to talk to her about?" Kiba asked Yugao.

"The truth." Was all Yugao said as she turned and started talking with Kurenai again, earning a confused look from Kiba before he shrugged it off and left.

_I hope everything works out Naruto-kun_

-With Naruto and Hinata-

Naruto let out a sigh as he appeared on the Hokage monument and saw Hinata nervously poking her fingers together as she looked over the village. He didn't exactly know what to call the girl in front of him; having never really interacted with the girl he couldn't really say they were close. Sure they had gone to the academy together and looking back he realised that she had been one of the few to actually cheer him on back then, albeit from a fair distance, and that had been the main reason she had earned a spot on his list of people he wanted to protect. If he had realised her feelings a little earlier, then maybe they could have had a future together as more then friends… but things hadn't turned out like that and he felt bad for what he was about to do.

_ Its' for her own good, I'm not who she thinks I am… at least not anymore…_

"Hinata." Naruto said, earning said girl's attention as she let out a low eep, "we need to talk about a few things."

"O-ok Naruto-kun." Hinata replied.

"I know about your feelings for me Hinata." Naruto started, surprising the young girl. She was about to say something but Naruto put his hand up and stopped her. "I would like for you to wait till I'm finished before saying anything.

"O-ok." She replied lowly.

"Now… I've grown a lot in the past few years both physically and mentally as I'm sure you have noticed, and I realised how stupid I was before for not realising how you felt about me." Naruto started, getting Hinata's hopes up slightly, "and while I'll admit that you a strong kunoichi and easily one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, I simple can't return your feelings."

Naruto regretted saying those words as soon as the devastated look appeared on Hinata's face, cursing himself slightly he reached out to comfort the girl only to have his hand slapped away.

"Why…whywhywhywhyWHY!" She shouted, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"These feelings you have… They are based on the person that I used to be, but even then that was never who I truly was. We never really talked… or did anything together, how can you have feelings for someone you hardly know." Naruto said, trying to calm her down. "I'll admit that if I had realised your feelings before I went into Anbu things probably would have been different, but I was too stupid and you were to shy."

"How about now! Give me a chance to get to know you Naruto-kun." Hinata said, "You said things may have been different if we had got to know each other so why not now? I've watched you since we were in the academy, seeing how you never gave up gave me the strength to overcome my own obstacles."

"You're wrong…" Naruto said, "Your strength is your own, I may have given you determination, but not strength. You wanted to become strong so that I would notice you, hoping that I would return your feelings, is that correct?"

"Somewhat…" Hinata said, "I wanted to become strong to prove my family wrong about me, and with that strength I would be able to change my clan."

"I see… you may not know this but I noticed you during your fight with Neji in the Chunin exams, you showed great determination and a will to not give up even fighting a stronger opponent. That earned my respect… But I can't have feelings for someone I don't know. While its' very possible that I may come to like you in time… I do not think your father would agree. As the last remaining person in my clan its' also very likely I'll be forced to take multiple wives… as you noticed earlier I'm already with Yugao-chan. You are a caring person Hinata but something tells me that you wouldn't be willing to share me with anyone else." Naruto said, watching in amusement as a still annoyed looking Hinata blushed at the double meaning to his last statement.

_Heh… it's always the shy ones. Whatever guy ends up with her will be one lucky son of a bitch._ Naruto thought.

"I'm sorry Hinata… I really am. I remember how you were always nice to me in the academy and cheered me on, even if it was from a distance. I'm sorry that I can't give you what you want Hinata." Naruto said. Hearing the sincerity in his voice Hinata calmed down a little.

"I-its ok Naruto-kun… I kind o-of understand." Hinata replied with a sad smile. "D-do you think I'm w-weak Naruto-kun?"

"No… I think the exact opposite in fact. Like I said earlier you're a very strong Kunoichi. I believe that one day… you will be able to achieve your dream of uniting the two halves of the Hyuuga family. When that day comes you will prove yourself to everybody else who still doesn't believe in you." Naruto said.

"Thank you Naruto-kun… t-that means a l-lot to me."

"No problem Hinata… Even if I can't return your feelings your still one of my friends, and I never abandon my friends." Naruto said, "Will you be ok with just being friends?"

"Y-Yes Naruto-kun… It m-may take a w-while for me to g-get over my f-feelings for you, b-but I would still l-love it if you were a p-part of my life." Hinata replied with a small smile.

"Alright, I'm sure you won't have any issues finding someone else Hinata. With your personality and certain… assets." Naruto started as he eyed Hinata, making the girl blush, "I'm sure you will have men falling for you left and right."

"P-pervert." Hinata stammered before leaving via Shunshin, making Naruto chuckle slightly.

_Lucky guy indeed_

-In Ame-

"So… you let not only Itachi, but the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi get away?" Pein asked Konan as she finished telling him of her and Kisame's defeat.

"I-I'm sorry Nagato… wherever the Kyuubi Jinchuriki disappeared to over the past three years helped him grow stronger… I'm lucky that he didn't kill me." Konan replied.

"Failure is not acceptable Konan… If you were anyone else I would have killed you. Because of your failure Konoha now has information on all of our members… do not fail me again or you might not get off as easy." Pein said, earning a slight wince from Konan.

"W-would you really go so far as to kill the only friend you have left?" Konan asked somewhat hesitantly.

"If it means that true peace would be easier to obtain… then yes. I will do what needs to be done to usher in an era of true peace." Pein replied.

_H-he would really kill me… Maybe Naruto-san was right… maybe the Nagato I once knew is no more… _Konan thought, then her eyes widened… _No! Nagato wouldn't do that! I'm just overthinking this… I need some fresh air to help me think._

Konan walked the streets of Ame, a thoughtful frown on her face as she thought about what Nagato had said to her earlier. Shaking her head of those thoughts she looked around, noticing how the people of Ame gave her a wide berth in the road. Some would talk in hush whispers with one-another while looking her way, but most avoided eye contact completely. Konan was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she was almost knocked over as she felt a small body crash into her. Looking down Konan's eyes softened slightly as saw who had bumped into her, a young girl with dark red hair and dark green eyes wearing nothing but a raggedy old dress.

"Are you alright young one?" Konan asked as she bent over to help the girl up. Growing up an orphan Konan had developed somewhat of a soft spot for young orphans and tried to help as much as she could. She was shocked when the young girl tried to scurry backwards, fear written all over her young face.

"I-I'm sorry! P-please don't h-hurt me!" She stammered as she tried to scoot backwards away from Konan, "I-I don't w-want to be p-part of some ex-experiment! P-please d-don't kill me!"

"I-I'm not going to hurt you… I'm just trying to help." Konan said, trying to reason with the girl.

"I-I don't believe you!" She yelled as she got to her feet and darted into a nearby alleyway and out of Konan's sight.

Konan stood stock still in the middle of the street, the people around her whispering to each other about the scene that had just taken place, whispering to each other about how the 'Angel' was trying to steal the young girl for her 'Gods' experiments. Seeing the fright in the little girl's eyes and hearing how the villagers were whispering about her brought back what Naruto had said to her.

_"He may have freed the people of Ame, but they still live in fear of him."_

Naruto's words came crashing back in full force as she found herself starting to believe them. It was clear from how the villagers talked that they feared Nagato and what he did in the tower, but she had never gone out of her way to harm the people of Ame… yet they still feared her. They called her the Angel, yet feared her as a weapon, one that would bring nothing but death and despair.

_Is this how the Tailed Beast weapon will be seen…? Nagato wants to create peace for the world the same way he did in Ame… by killing off those who oppose him while the rest cower in fear, there has to be a better way, one where we can live together peacefully without fear. I will try to show Nagato that the path he is walking down could never lead to true peace, if he can't accept that what he plans to do is wrong... then I don't know if I would be able to follow him anymore. _

But where would she go? Who could she turn to if not the only friend and link she had to a childhood long past. Aside from Konoha, none of the other village's knew much about Akatsuki making it a safe bet that she would be able to get in one without much trouble. If she left though, she was sure Nagato would track her down, intent of either killing her or taking her prisoner so his secrets wouldn't get out. None of the hidden villages aside from Konoha and possibly Kumo would have the ability to protect her from him.

_Perhaps Yahiko… perhaps your dream does live on, just not through Nagato like I had originally thought…_ _would you help me if I asked you, Naruto Uzumaki._

_-_Few Days Later, Konoha-

Tsunade rubbed her temples as she thought of how much paperwork the next council meeting would cause.

"Do we really have to announce like… both of you today?" Tsunade asked, hoping to lessen the amount of paperwork that cut into her drinking time.

"Yes you do Ba-chan." Naruto said, "Now please stop asking."

Tsunade decided to come to Naruto's complex earlier to speak with both Naruto and Itachi instead of calling them to her office. They were lucky enough that Itachi remained hidden when her first entered the village, and she didn't want to push their luck any further.

"Naruto is right Tsunade-sama, it would be best to get this over and done with as soon as possible. I'm not sure what Akatsuki will do now that they have lost one of their members. I do not think there are any other shinobi currently strong enough to fight Biju, so I believe that Kisame will work by himself. I know that Sasori and Deidara are in charge of capturing the Ichibi but that might change now." Itachi said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, interested in who might be going after Gaara.

"Well… Kisame and I were in charge of getting the Kyuubi from you, but with me gone I doubt Pein would send just one person after you, even if it is Kisame. With me gone he will have to change who is in charge of obtaining each Biju. By himself Kisame could probably take any of them up to the Gobi, so Pein might make him switch with one of the other groups so that there will be two people hunting you. My guess is that he will switch Kisame out with both Deidara and Sasori, who are in charge of capturing the Ichibi, or Hidan and Kakuzu who are in charge of Nibi."

"Hidan and Kakuzu are the so called 'Zombie Brothers' right?" Naruto asked. With info on who might be going after both Gaara and Yugito Naruto would be better prepared should either of them use one of the reverse summoning tags that he gave them.

"Yea… I don't really know a lot about either of them. Kakuzu is a bounty hunter from Taki, rumored to have fought the Shodaime Hokage. Apparently he can steal other people's hearts and use them as his own, which is why he has been able to live for this long. Aside from that I don't really know a lot about him. Hidan is a Jashinist from Yugakure. He carries a large three bladed scythe around with him at all times, leading me to believe that he is a close ranged specialist. From what I've heard if he cuts you with it he can perform a ritual where he consumes your blood and any damage inflicted to him is redirected to whoever's blood he ingested. Hidan is the more problematic of the two in my opinion, unless you completely destroy his body I'm not sure if you can kill him or not, at least Kakuzu will die after his 5 hearts are destroyed." Itachi explained, earning a nod from Naruto and Tsunade.

"I see." Naruto started. "Either way, whoever goes after Yugito or Gaara will be problematic. We will have to be ready if they use my reverse summoning tags. Alone I could probably deal with Kisame, but I'm not really comfortable fighting against two S ranked shinobi by myself. If the tags are to be used Itachi, I will most likely be bringing you with me." Naruto said, receiving a nod from the older Uchiha.

"I can understand why you gave Gaara a tag the last time you were in Suna, but I can't quite understand why you gave Yugito one… our village's don't even have an alliance with each other, we owe Kumo nothing." Tsunade asked.

"I know that, but there is an unexplainable connection that we Jinchuriki have with one another. If I can do something to help prevent Akatsuki from claiming a tailed beast then that is just extra. Besides… Helping Kumo's Jinchuriki could lead to an alliance with them, she is close to the Raikage and his little brother who is the other Jinchuriki; if I asked her she would probably try and convince the Raikage into one, giving Konoha another ally." Naruto explained, earning a nod from Tsunade.

"I guess you do have a point brat… But I'm going to leave now; I've got a few things I need to check before the council meeting. Be at my office in a few hours and we can all go together." Tsunade said as she stood up and made her way towards the front entrance.

"Alright we'll be there, what about Itachi though? I'm sure he could sneak into your office but there is no way he would be able to sneak into the council chambers and remain hidden, not with Hiashi and the rest of the Shinobi council." Naruto asked as he walked Tsunade out.

"Your right, that's why we are going to get Itachi out of the way first, when the council explodes I'll explain a few things then it will lead into you being named as the new Uzumaki Clan head. Trust me on this, after years of headaches I'm finally able to get back at the civilian council and the elders." Tsunade said with a sick grin, causing Naruto to sweatdrop.

"Right… I trust you." Naruto replied, receiving a glare from Tsunade before she left.

"Smartass…"

-Few hours later, Konoha Council-

Tsunade entered the council chambers flanked by both Naruto and cloaked Itachi. Some of the civilian council members frowned when they saw Naruto but new not to say anything, the relationship that Naruto and Tsunade had was no secret to anyone and they thought it best to not anger the Hokage.

"Tsunade-sama." One of the civilian members started, "why is… Uzumaki-san here, and who is that cloaked figure?"

"Naruto is the reason this council meeting has been called today, as for the other person… that will be answered shortly." Tsunade said as she sat down.

"What is so important about Uzumaki-san that you would want to call a council meeting?" A man with pale white eyes asked.

"Things have happened during the past three years and Naruto has learned a few things that we decided to share with you." Tsunade said. "Before we get to that though, there is someone who has returned to Konoha after… being absent for many years."

The moment Itachi removed his hood the room erupted into chaos; the civilians looked on fearfully as the Shinobi side stood in a battle ready stance. The Anbu in the room also appeared and circled Itachi and Naruto, waiting for the signal to try and end his life.

"Stand down!" Tsunade's voice boomed throughout the council chambers.

"What is the meaning of this Tsunade-sama! Itachi is an S ranked criminal what is he doing here!" one of the civilians yelled.

"Indeed he is… however he has come back to Konoha willingly, and has been placed under the protection of a clan head." Tsunade said, making each of the clan heads look at each other questioningly.

"But he killed the rest of his clan! Who's to say he won't do it again."

"There are certain things regarding that night that you don't know, and don't need to know." Tsunade replied, "Fact of the matter is… Itachi has come back to Konoha willingly, giving us information on the S ranked criminal group known as Akatsuki."

"Why is this the first time we are hearing about this group Tsunade-sama?" A feral looking woman with two red marks running down her face asked. This woman was Tsume Inzuka, the current matriarch of the Inzuka clan.

"We have been monitoring the Akatsuki for the past three years, as of right now we know what they want, just not why." Tsunade said.

"I assume whatever they want its' something troublesome right?" Shikaku Nara, the current leader of the Nara clan, asked.

"Akatsuki is gathering the Jinchuriki… over the past three years they have been laying low while focusing on earning money and gathering Intel on all the Jinchuriki. According to Itachi-sans report they work in pairs of two, and each group has recently been given a target Jinchuriki to capture." Tsunade said.

"This would obviously mean that I am a target." Naruto said, earning the councils attention, "as well as the Kazekage Gaara, and a Kunoichi from Kumo I had the pleasure of meeting on my last mission."

"Who is assigned to take Naruto?" Hiashi asked. He had never really hated the boy for what he held, but at the same time had never done much to help him.

"I was." Itachi said calmly, causing a few in the room to tense again, "along with Kisame Hoshigaki, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"How do we know this isn't just a trap for you to capture Naruto-san easily?" One of the civilian members asked. While no one on the civilian side really liked Naruto, they realised the danger a group such as Akatsuki posed.

"You don't." Itachi replied calmly, "Aside from the fact that I've returned to Konoha willingly and given you information on the group I used to work for, none of you know anything about me, or the reason why I did what I did. But at the same time I've been placed under the protection of a clan head, giving you little to no power over what can be done with me."

"Yes… you said that earlier. But what clan are you under protection from, from the looks if it the rest of the clan heads present, which are all of them, have no idea what you are talking about." Inoichi Yamanaka, current head of the Yamanaka clan and information gathering specialist from I and T department asked.

"That's a good question Inoichi-san, one that leads into the next part of this meeting." Tsunade said, gathering the attention of the council again. "It's come to my attention that a clan recently thought to be long dead… still has one living member."

"What do you mean Tsunade-sama? What clan?" Tsume asked.

"As many of you know, Kushina Uzumaki was from Uzushiogakure and daughter of the Uzumaki clan head at that time." Tsunade said, earning nods from around the room.

"That she was… but Kushina-chan has been dead for sixteen years." Tsume stated.

"That is true… Kushina has been dead for sixteen years, but her son hasn't." Tsunade said, earning surprised looks from the Shinobi side, before the slowly turned their gaze towards Naruto.

"You can't mean…"

"Kushina-chan's son is…"

"Yes… Kushina's legacy, along with the Uzumaki clan's, has been living in Konoha under our very noses for the past 16 years. Naruto is the son of Kushina Uzumaki and the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze." Tsunade finished.

"If that were true… Then Naruto-san would be the heir to both the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans, but you only referred to a single clan." Shikaku said.

"That's right I did, after much thought on Naruto's part he has decided to take up his mother's name and not his father's." Tsunade said, "Which means that the Uzumaki Clan will be reborn in Konoha."

"But what about Yondaime's legacy? Surely if Naruto-san takes Kushina-san's name then it's likely the Yondaime's family will be forgotten. Sure the Namikaze weren't a big clan like the Hyuuga or Uchiha, but they were still powerful." Inoichi asked.

"My father's family will never be forgotten. I've already taken preparations in my clan's compound to ensure that the Namikaze name will forever be remembered by my family; if you are so worried about knowledge of his family being forgotten I would suggest that you do the same." Naruto said.

"We are getting ahead of ourselves here; I have yet to see one piece of evidence that Naruto-san is in fact related to either Kushina-san or Minato." A man wrapped in bandages said, earning a nod from the civilian side while Tsunade scowled slightly.

"Very well then Danzo-_san_, if it is so hard to believe then I have prepared both a marriage contract for Kushina and Minato, as well as Naruto's both certificate and blood samples that I tested myself." Tsunade said as she placed a small stack of papers on the table. Danzo took the papers and read them over carefully, before grunting and passing them on to the advisors.

"Is that sufficient enough evidence for you Danzo-san?" Tsunade asked, receiving a stiff nod from the bandaged Shinobi. "Good, Naruto will be required to attend all council meetings from here on out unless there is an emergency and he is required… Is there anything else that you want to discuss?"

"A couple things actually… one being what we are going to do with Itachi, who I'm assuming is under Naruto-san's protection, and since Naruto is the last of his clan will he be taking more than one wife to help restore the Uzumaki?" Choza, the head of the Akimichi clan and last member of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho formation asked.

"Yes… I am still not convinced that Itachi's intentions towards this village are good." Danzo said, earning a glare from Tsunade as he had played the key role in convincing Itachi to slaughter the Uchiha.

"Itachi has been placed under my care and protection, if that is not enough for you then I have a proposition that I really hoped I wouldn't be forced to use." Naruto said.

"Go on."

"The Uzumaki clan has a seal that is similar to the Hyuuga's caged bird seal. However, I can make it so that the seal only affects a certain are of the body; along with making it so the seal can only be activated by myself and Tsunade-sama." Naruto explained, "if I was to say… attach the seal to Itachi's heart, it could be used as a…"

"Kill switch." Shikaku finished. Being the head of a clan well known for being the most intelligent in Konoha, Shikaku could tell there was more going on here but he didn't quite know what.

"Exactly, I can attach the seal to Itachi's heart, adding both mine and Tsunade-sama's blood to the seal will make it so that only we could activate it. That being said, we have already discussed with Tsunade-sama that Itachi will be under my watch, meaning when I go on missions, he comes with me, so adding Tsunade's blood is only a precautionary method if something were to… happen to me." Naruto said, earning a nod from the council members.

"That would be… satisfactory, Naruto-san. Now, what about our other question?" Danzo asked.

"I will be taking more than one spouse." Naruto said, earning grins from the civilian side, "however, I know the laws. I cannot be placed into an arranged marriage till after my eighteenth birthday, giving me two more years to find suitable wives."

"You know how many you are required to have right?" Danzo asked with a frown, he had hoped that Naruto wouldn't have read up on clan laws yet so he could force him into marriages that would benefit his plans for Konoha.

"Yes, at the minimum I am required to take four wives. I'm already in a relationship with someone right now. While I don't really like the idea of having more than one wife, if someone who I approve of was to come along then I wouldn't pass up the opportunity as I don't want to be forced into a loveless marriage with some merchant's spoiled daughter." Naruto said.

"May I ask who you are in a relationship with Naruto-san?" Tsume asked, already thinking of encouraging her daughter to get to know the young blonde.

"I guess it is alright… Yugao Uzuki, my old Anbu partner who is now living at my estate alongside Itachi and my-self." Naruto replied, earning a nod from the Inzuka matriarch.

"We will announce Naruto's heritage and Itachi's return to the village tomorrow, if there are no more questions or concerns regarding Naruto you two are free to go." Tsunade said. Earning no protest Naruto and Itachi left the Council chambers, agreeing to meet with Tsunade later to apply the seal.

-Grass Country-

"Kukuku… Are you sure this information is true?"

"Yes Orochimaru-sama… It seems that Itachi Uchiha has returned to Konoha after leaving the Akatsuki… They even sent four high ranked shinobi to help him get away."

"Do you know who they sent Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked.

"They sent A ranked shinobi Kakashi Hatake, Yugao Uzuki, and Maito Gai along with recently promoted Naruto Uzumaki, whose bingo book entry was recently updated to S ranked." Kabuto replied.

The sound of shattering glass could be heard from a dark corner of the room, the only thing that could be seen through the darkness was a pair of angry Sharingan eyes.

_Itachi… Naruto… I'll kill you both soon enough._

-Omake, how not to tell Hinata you don't have feelings for her- (Remember the M rating)

"Yugao-chan… I don't know how to tell Hinata that I can't return her feelings. We were never really close, but she is still my friend and I don't want to hurt her." Naruto said as he stood beside Yugao on the Hokage monument.

"I don't know Naruto-kun… That girl is as bad as those girls Ino and Sakura were with Sasuke before he left… just that she is too shy to actually do anything about it. I think that no matter how you say it you are going to hurt her feelings." Yugao replied.

"That's what I was afraid of…" Naruto said, sighing as he ran his hand through his hair.

Yugao was about to say something when a man wearing a black hoodie and glasses with grey hair jumped in front of her, knocking her off balance as she fell down the forehead of the Yondaime Hokage.

"Dude, what the fuck, we were having a heart to heart there… and why are you wearing glasses… its nighttime."

"For one… I'm here to help you with your problem with Hinata, for your second question, its' always sunny in Doucheville." The man said, making Naruto sweatdrop.

"Right…"

"Well… the first thing you gotta do is take her out for coffee or something, after that you invite her back to your house. When you get there you tell her to sit on your couch while you go grab a beer, after that." The man said as he turned away, almost as if he was looking at an imaginary camera, "You fuck er right in the pussy."

After the words left his mouth both he and Naruto felt heavy bloodlust coming from behind them, turning they both paled as they saw Yugao, Ninjato drawn, glaring daggers at both of them.

"Y-Yugao-chan I w-wouldn't actually d-do that." Naruto said, trying to calm the purple haired woman down.

"I know Naruto-kun, I'm not mad at you." Yugao replied as she directed all her Ki (Killing Intent) at the grey haired man.

"Dude… you should run." Naruto whispered, earning a nod from him.

"Remember… right in the pussy." He said as he disappeared in a burst of speed, followed closely by Yugao who was currently screaming death threats.

"The fuck just happened… Although I can't deny that would be tempting… I'm sure she would be up for it." Naruto said, then once again paled as he felt Ki rise up from behind him. Turning Naruto saw another Yugao standing there.

"Shadow clone?"

Yugao nodded,

"Mercy?"

"Sorry _Naruto-kun_… All outta mercy."

"What about a headstart?"

"Five seconds."

"Good enough." Naruto said as he disappeared in a flash, making Yugao think he had mastered the Hiraishin.

(For any of you that don't get it, there was a guy who did something like this on national news a while back, youtube it.)

**Alright so that's another chapter done… I'm sorry for updating so late, I started this chapter over a week ago but got sent out to work the day after starting and didn't really find the time to finish the chapter while at work. A fair bit happened this chapter, and a lot of you will probably see that I'm going to be changing at least one Akatsuki fight for either Gaara or Yugito. Hopefully the confrontation between Naruto and Hinata was some-what believable… that was probably the hardest part for me to write this chapter. Ncpfan was the only person to catch my Lord of the Rings reference in chapter five, or at least the only one who said anything about it. I'm on vacation until the 25****th**** of this month, so hopefully I'll be able to get one or maybe two more chapters up… but I can't make any promises on that as I'm getting ready to go visit family as well as my birthday, but hopefully at least one more chapter. I got a pm asking about an update, and before anyone else asks I'm going to say it right now that what I do for work usually takes me away from home for 15 days at a time, during that time I'm usually working 12-16 hours a day so by the end of it I don't really feel like writing anything, most of the time I eat and fall asleep for 5 hours before doing it all over again. So if I don't update for long periods of time that's most likely why. There were other things I had planned on talking about but I forgot em so kudos to me for that. For the record, Konan won for the fourth pairing, that pairing seems to have become extremely popular recently.**

**Recommendations**

**-Anime-**

**Black Bullet- for the second time, its' starting to get really really good.**

**The Irregular at Magic High- last episode ended on a huuuuge cliff hanger, it would seem that the student council figured out who Tatsuya really is, and now he is being placed in a simulated duel between the two toughest opponents a rival school has to offer.**

**Second Part of Sword Art Online was also just released on Crunchyroll, and I'm assuming other sites as well. If you haven't seen any of Sword Art Online I'd highly recommend checking it out.**

**-Games-**

**Naruto Ninja Storm Revolution Demo is now out on PS3 and I'm assuming 360 as well, check it out if you liked the previous games, they added some new features that are fairly cool.**

**Onigiri is a Japanese MMO that recently came out as well, I found it enjoyable in the short time I had to play it, its' free and the combat is fairly fast paced.**

**(time for flames) I guess I also kinda got back into Runescape after like 3 years of not playing… its' a fun little distraction to play in the background while doing other things.**

**-Fanfics-**

**Gold and Crimson by Ghost4321, Naruto fic that crosses over into both Bleach and Fairytail, I'm hoping it is still being updated.**

**Other than that I have nothing… Haven't really done a lot of reading lately, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. R&R**


	8. What is going on!

**Warning… for anyone who has not read the latest Manga chapter, do not read any further! Now I know I said I was going to update a while ago, and there is a good reason I didn't right after posting I got sent out to work for 4 days, came back for a day, had my tire slashed in my car, then went back to work at 2am the next day, and been working a lot ever since. But I've got a little time off now, and I'm going to rant about the latest chapter of Naruto.. Sasuke has been confirmed to be a douche in this chapter, using everyone else for his own purposes. They defeated Kaguya, Naruto had a sad goodbye with his father, and then Sasuke turns all "Emo-Revolutionary asshole" and says he's gonna kill the five Kage who are trapped in the Infinite Tsukiomi(Probably spelled that wrong, but idc.) He took control of all 9 tailed beasts, after Kurama and the Eight Tails both decided to go back into Naruto/Bee respectfully. Now what I find weird, is the fact that they released the short trailer for the last Naruto movie, which is set to take place in the future, showing Naruto and a few others grown up… so that leads me to believe that Naruto ultimately wins this next fight with Sasuke… why they would release the trailer showing off potential spoilers before the release of the final (arc?) of Naruto Shippuden doesn't make sense. I had actually believed that Sasuke had changed, but it looks like he hasn't :/ oh well, I hope Naruto kicks the shit out of him/kills him, and then winds up with Hinata… hate me for it all you want, I'm a Naru/Hina fan. But on that note, I don't believe that they will actually wind up together, if anything the movie will show that Hinata was either married off to someone else, lets say Kiba, or a diplomat from another nation, and Naruto will wind up alone with no one… and what the fuck is with Naruto's short hair! And lastsly… a few of the character sketches for the new movie have popped up around the internet, Lee looks intense, Choji kinda reminds me of a fatter Asuma, and Ten-ten looks hot(er) but kinda reminds me of Chun-Li from street fighter, Temari, while still looking good, also looks a lot different, and Gaara is the same badass Gaara will always be. So yea… working on the new chapter for this story, and for anyone interested, I started my long time coming Dark Souls/Naruto crossover so if anyone wants to check it out, feel free! I also got a partnership on youtube… which is HUGE for me, so I'd like to ask any (or all of you) to check out my channel if you enjoy Minecraft, Cod, Diablo 3, Outlast, and many other games I plan on playing/uploading, the link is in my Profile, or just search "ConsoleCraft" in the youtube search bar, and I've got the Minecraft created thumbnail! Sooo in short, Sasuke=Douchebag, Naruto= Hopefully gonna kill said Douchebag, and Naru/Hina= highly unlikely… but I can still hope!**


	9. The Real Chapter 8!

**Authors note at the bottom this time… Syce! Probably just going to be a short transition chapter into my Second Last Uzumaki Arc, followed by the Rescuing the Jinchuriki Arc.. Could be a long AU… Also, sorry if there is a small, or large, drop in quality this chapter, recent additions to not only the Manga, but releases of character sketches of the new Naruto movie that spoil the shit out of the ending of the Manga have made me fairly un-interested in writing a story based solely in the Naruto-verse, but more on that later!**

The sound of steel clashing against steel could be heard coming from the new Uzumaki Clan Compound in the early morning hours as Itachi and Naruto faced off against each other in a friendly (sort of) spar.

"You're getting better Naruto-kun, even with my advanced Sharingan I have issues tracking your movements. A little faster and I won't be able to keep up with you." Itachi said as he and Naruto broke apart from their deadlock. "Speed alone won't be enough to defeat someone with the Rinnegan though, you need to continue training if you wish to defeat Pein. Even if you defeat Pein you still have Tobi to worry about, I was never able to watch him fight but I am certain that his Sharingan is more advanced than mine, especially if he was able to control the Kyuubi before it was sealed into you."

Straightening up from his fighting stance, Naruto glanced towards the older Uchiha before nodding his head.

"Yea… According to the intel you gave, Akatsuki will be looking to capturing me last, that should give me more than enough time to become strong enough to fight Pein and the masked Uchiha." Naruto replied. "Even if they come after me a little earlier, I find it hard to believe that Pein or Tobi will be coming after me in person… not until I eliminate a few of their other members first."

Agreeing with the blond Uzumaki, Itachi also got out of his combat stance as slow clapping was heard from the side of the training ground. Looking towards the sound of the applause both Naruto and Itachi spotted Yugao making her way to the center of the clearing.

"Excellent spar Naruto-kun… even though I know how strong you are it is still surprising seeing someone able to keep up with Itachi… Itachi was my team leader when I first joined ANBU, I was always amazed at how strong he was even though he was still so young." Yugao said with a smile as she looked between the two ex ANBU members. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised though… you managed to earn a mask that neither Itachi or Kakashi could earn."

"Thanks Yugao-chan… Hey, isn't Kurenai-sensei supposed to be stopping by later this morning for training sessions?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod from Yugao he adopted a thoughtful look before glancing towards Itachi. "Hey… Itachi?"

"Yes Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked.

"Would you mind helping me train Kurenai-sensei? I'm not good at doing anything other than dispelling Genjutsu… so while I can train her to help her stamina, strength, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and possibly Kenjutsu… I wouldn't be able to help her train further in Genjutsu. While she is Konoha's resident Genjutsu expert, I'm sure you of all people would be able to help her become stronger in that area." Naruto asked, earning a thoughtful look from Itachi for a few moments before nodding his head.

"I'll help Naruto-kun… Call it a favor for when I fought her three years ago." Itachi replied, earning a nod from Naruto and Yugao.

"You two should go wash up before Kurenai-chan gets here, you both stink from this mornings training." Yugao said, earning a slight pout from Naruto and a blank look from Itachi. "I'll have breakfast ready for both of you when you are done, don't worry Naruto-kun."

Pouting for a few more moments, Naruto suddenly smiled before using a Shunshin to close the distance between himself and Yugao. Using her momentary shock to his advantage he wrapped his arms around her waist before picking her up in a hug and kissing her on the lips before dropping her back down and disappearing into his house, leaving a blushing Yugao and slightly smirking Itachi behind.

-Few hours later-

After cleaning himself off and eating breakfast with Yugao and Itachi, Naruto spent the next few hours going through some of his father's sealing notes. Already being an accomplished sealer, Naruto knew a lot about the basic and more advanced Namikaze and Uzumaki clan seals, and was starting to think about ways to infuse both of the clan's methods into one single set of seals. Letting out a frustrated sigh Naruto closed the scroll he was reading before feeling a hand land on his shoulder, looking up he saw Yugao looking at the notes he had spread across the table.

"What are you doing Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked, after having met Naruto in ANBU, Yugao took an intrust in learning methods beyond the basic sealing scroll and exploding tag.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to combine my father's clans sealing methods with my mother's. I do not want the Namikaze sealing methods to be lost or forgotten, but I would like to unite the sealing methods as I have the clans… that would make sealing easier to learn for future generations of the clan." Naruto explained, earning a nod from Yugao.

"It looks like you are having troubles with that though… maybe you should try asking Jiraiya-sama to help?" Yugao suggested.

"Yea… that old perv would probably help if I asked, as long as he doesn't try to peak on you like he did last time he helped me train." Naruto said, "I'll worry about that later though… Kurenai-sensei should be here pretty soon and I need to get a few things ready before she does."

"Yea… he should have learned after the last time he tried… but I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that again. From what you told me Tsunade almost killed him for peeking on her and he still tries." She said with a sigh, "but you are right, we can worry about that another time, I'll go show Kurenai-chan in so that she doesn't try to kill Itachi when she sees him."

"Good thinking." Naruto replied, before the two split off to get things ready for Kurenai's training session. "Even though Tsunade announced Itachi's return to the village, she might still be a little on edge around him, just stick around to help her keep her relax. You know her better than I do, so she would probably feel better with you around."

Thinking about Tsunade's announcement of Itachi's return and his status as a clan head brought an amused smile to Naruto's face. It had been less than pretty, the villagers had been in an uproar over the older Uchiha's return, calling for his execution and blaming him for Sasuke's defection, while the Shinobi side was a little less vocal in their opinions, you could tell they were a little weary about having the notorious S ranked criminal back in their ranks. Everyone seemed to settle down after Tsunade explained the seal Naruto had been forced to place on Itachi, but a few were still a little restless. Naruto figured that after Kurenai's defeat at the hands of Itachi three years prior, that there could still be a little bit of tension between the two; especially since he had arranged for Itachi to help train her. Asking Yugao to stay close for the first little bit had him feel confident that Kurenai wouldn't say or do anything stupid.

Finishing up his preparations for Kurenai's morning training, Naruto waited patiently for Yugao to finish showing Kurenai around, before bringing her to the training ground. Perched on top one of the branches above Naruto Itachi also waited, even a genius Uchiha would have to be wary of the unstoppable force known as feminine fury.

"Are you sure asking me to help Kurenai was the smartest thing to do Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked, glancing down at the young blonde.

"Honestly… I'm not sure. This could blow up in my face, but I'm not going to explain why you are back and what transpired all those years ago without your permission. Maybe in a few weeks when everyone is a little more accustomed to your return, we can discuss with a few of the Jounin sensei why everything happened the night of the massacre." Naruto explained, "she is close with Yugao-chan, so she is good in my books even though I may not know her very well yet."

"I see…" Itachi replied, before closing his eyes and resting his head against the trunk of the tree, leaving Naruto to his own thoughts.

A few minutes later Kurenai and Yugao made their way into the training ground, chatting idly about the estate and everything Kurenai had seen so far. Noticing their arrival, Naruto stood and gradually made his way over to them.

"Hello Kurenai-san, I'm happy that you actually considered doing this." Naruto said.

"Yugao-chan has told me a lot about the skills you have picked up over the years, after hearing everything she had to say I have to say I'm honored that you want to help me." Kurenai replied with a small smile.

"Don't mention it, Kurenai-san, any friend of Yugao-chan's is a friend of mine. Today is going to be more of a testing day, I will be testing your strength, stamina, and chakra levels for a third of the day. When we are done, Yugao-chan will take over and start teaching you about Kenjutsu…" Naruto paused, before Itachi appeared behind him, "And due to the fact that neither I, nor Yugao, have much experience in Genjutsu, I have gotten the best Genjutsu user I know to help you out in that department."

"Hello again, Kurenai-san." Itachi said with a slight bow, ignoring the glare Kurenai was aiming at the back of his head. "Think of this as an apology for that fight we had three years ago. As he stated, Naruto has asked me to help you with Genjutsu, I look forward to helping you."

"This is for the best, Kurenai-san. No one else I know has the same expertise in Genjutsu as Itachi does. And keep in mind, if it looks like Itachi means you or anyone else any harm, I can end his life without having to lift a finger." Naruto explained, somewhat calming Kurenai down, although she still looked a little weary around the older Uchiha. Naruto would have to change that, however he would not tell her anything without Itachi's consent.

"I came here for training… if Itachi-san can help improve my Genjutsu… Then I guess I have no choice." Kurenai said with a sigh, earning a smile from both Naruto and Yugao.

"Alright then." Naruto said, before gaining a serious expression, "Welcome to hell Kurenai-san, for the next two weeks you will do nothing aside from eat, sleep, and train. You will be here early in the morning, and will not leave until late at night, you are free to stop the training at any time if you feel you cannot handle it. If you do this however, I will not give you a second chance, neither will Yugao, or Itachi."

He knew it was harsh, but he had to get his point across. The next two weeks would be hell for anyone who was not accustomed to not only an ANBU level training regime, but also Naruto's personal training schedule, and so far only Yugao knew how much Naruto pushed himself.

Looking around, Kurenai noticed that both Itachi and Yugao had the same serious looks that Naruto held, letting her know that they were serious. If she fucked up, they wouldn't extend the invitation a second time.

"Alright… I'm ready."

-**9 Hours Later, Private hot Springs of the Uzumaki Estate-**

Pain. If one word could describe what Kurenai was feeling right now, that would be it. After her introduction earlier this morning, Naruto had put her through the wringer in a two hour physical workout, followed by a full hour of light sparring on one of the ponds located on his training field. She was then handed off to Yugao, who also put her through a light sparring session, trying to gauge her skills with Kenjutsu; but having never used a sword in actual combat before, her skills were next to none. After that, Yugao had gone into an explanation of the basic of wielding a sword, helping her through the motions, before giving her a few books on the basic styles of Kenjutsu and sending her off to Itachi. Most of her time spent with Itachi had been theory, having him explain the different types of Genjutsu he knew and the amount of Chakra required to cast each one.

"So, how was your first day?"

Kurenai was lost so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't even realised Yugao had made her way into the hot spring and was currently sitting beside her.

"It was good…"Kurenai started, "You and Naruto sure put me through the wringer this morning… I don't think I've ever had a workout that strenuous before in my life."

"I remember the first time Naruto ever helped me in stamina and strength training. At that time though, I was more advanced than you are, and the training he made me do was way worse." Yugao replied, laughing slightly at the look of horror that crossed her friends face. "Don't worry though, Naruto-kun is going to be taking your training at a slower pace, he will decide when you are ready for the next stage."

"What if I'm not ready by the time the two weeks is up?" Kurenai asked.

"If you last two weeks, Naruto-kun will probably ask you to keep training. Two weeks is not enough time for even him to pass on a lot of his knowledge. You are free to turn it down if you want, but the option for further training will remain, as long as you last this first two weeks." Yugao replied, earning a slight nod from her friend.

"Err… Yugao-chan." Kurenai stated

"What is it Kurenai-chan?"

"D-do you trust Itachi? I mean… he killed his whole clan aside from Sasuke… how could Tsunade-sama allow someone like that back into the village." Kurenai asked.

"There are… things… about that night that you don't know. Itachi came back on his own free will, and swore his loyalty to not only Naruto but Konoha as well. Please do not ask for more information, as it is not my place to tell… Give it time Kurenai, and you will eventually trust Itachi the same way Naruto-kun and I do." Yugao said.

"Alright."

"Kurenai." Yugao said, this time earning the ruby eyed beauty's attention. "Have you thought about what we talked about on our last mission?"

Gaining a slight red tinge to her cheeks, Kurenai nodded slightly.

"Not much… But I have given it thought."

"Good… I would advise using these next two weeks to get to know Naruto-kun better. This may be one of the best chances you will have to get to know him." Yugao said, before getting out of the water, leaving Kurenai to her own thoughts.

**-With Naruto- **

After leaving Kurenai with Yugao earlier in the afternoon, the young Uzumaki Clan Head had gone out in search of Jiraiya to see if the old Seal Master had any advice for Naruto's current dilemma of combining his parents sealing methods. Unfortunately for Naruto, Jiraiya had been a dead end, telling Naruto that after Minato had become Hokage, he too had tried to combine the two clans methods, but nothing ever came from it. Jiraiya had said that the Uzumaki clans seals had been based more primarily in the art of sealing things, like Biju, into other objects, whereas the Namikaze seals were primarily defensive seals, like the ones placed around the estate. He suggested just the seals that had already been created by both clans alone, and instead of focusing on seals that had already been created, to just take ideas and methods from each clan and try to create his own. To Jiraiya's knowledge, Naruto was the only person to have been born with both Uzumaki and Namikaze DNA, so why not just start his own method of sealing while taking ideas from both old ones.

Naruto had agreed with the old perverts reasoning at first, but still said he was going to try and find a way to merge the old seals together. After that, Naruto and Jiraiya sparred a bit before agreeing to meet up again later and discuss information on the Akatsuki.

And it currently… was later, so we find both the Ex-Anbu and Toad Sannin sitting in the back corner of one of the many Shinobi bars located around Konoha, as well as Itachi, who had come along at Jiraiya's request.

"So… Konan and Nagato are both part of the Akatsuki huh?" Jiraiya mused as he poured himself a cup of sake.

"It would look like it… although is Konan takes my advice she may not be a part of the Akatsuki for much longer. I want you to promise me something Jiraiya-sensei, do not go looking for Nagato in Ame, not without backup, and not without more intel on the Rinnegan." Naruto said, surprising the Sannin at his use of "Sensei", showing him that he was serious.

"I would have to agree with Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-sama." Itachi cut in, "perhaps talking to the toad sage's of Mount Myoboku will help. If not, than we could hope that Konan does take Naruto's advice, and seeks us out. All I know is that there are six different Peins, known as the Six Paths of Pein, and Nagato controls them from somewhere in Ame. I can assume that each path has a different power, what those are however, I do not know."

"I see… Alright brat, I promise I won't go looking for answers by myself." Jiraiya said, "what else can you tell me about the organization Itachi?"

From that point, Naruto blocked bits and pieces of the conversation out. Having already heard all of it during the de-briefing with Tsunade he knew what Itachi had to say.

"I see… With you out of the Akatsuki Kisame will be working by himself?" Jiraiya asked.

"Most likely… there only other option that I could see happening would be him working with Konan. She is usually with Pein, but he doesn't go out in search of Jinchuriki like the rest. Kisame is powerful enough to take most Jinchuriki by himself, especially since his sword Samehada eats chakra. But since Kisame and I worked together for a long time, I wouldn't put it past Pein or even Tobi to think Kisame knew of my true intentions, and would pair him with Konan to keep a close eye on him." Itachi replied, earning a nod from Jiraiya.

"From the sounds of it… Kisame, and the two you called "The Zombie Brothers" are the main pawns that we need to watch out for. Sasori and Diedara don't seem to be as much of a threat, and while Hidan doesn't seem to be a very strong fighter, the fact that he cannot die makes him a problem. Information from around my spy network, Kakuzu is known to have fought the First Hokage, leaving me to believe he is around one-hundred years old. He has the ability to steal a person's heart, and use it as his own, which would explain how he has managed to survive for this long. It is also believed that he has control over all the elements, which could be connected to the fact that he is able to steal someone else's heart." Jiraiya said, earning a nod from Itachi.

"That is what I've heard from others within the Akatsuki as well, Kakuzu is the only one in the Akatsuki to have been recruited by Pein personally. At first Kakuzu declined, and tried to fight Pein, but Pein defeated him easily, making him change his mind about joining. I'm not too sure of Hidan's abilities, I know he uses a large, three bladed scythe, and "Sacrifices" his enemies to his lord Jashin, but he was recruited by Orochimaru and Kakuzu. Deidara is a long range fighter, who relies on explosive clay he molds within his mouth, I was the one to recruit him and he should be one of the easiest members to defeat." Itachi replied.

"I see… a lot of this is new to me. I will make sure to let my spy network know to keep an eye out for any other Akatsuki movement. They should be done preparing to capture the Jinchuriki now." Jiraiya said, before bidding the two goodnight, and leaving to do his own thing.

**-Two Weeks Later- **

The last two weeks had gone by very slowly for one Genjutsu specialist named Kurenai, after the first few days she thought she had gotten used to the early hours, Naruto's insane physical training, the slight cuts and bruises left by Yugao, and the mental exhaustion at the end of her sessions with Itachi… but she had been wrong. Naruto had upped both the physical training, as well as chakra exercises, Yugao had started to drill teach her more advanced katas with a wide variety of different swords, from Ninjato to Katanas, and Itachi had started to teach her the Genjutsu, instead of just going over the theory for them. She couldn't complain though, her physical prowess had grown in leaps and bounds, and her chakra capacity had grown fairly well at the same time. She had the opportunity to learn about many different kinds of weapons, and figure out which one she felt most comfortable using, and it turned out that she was most comfortable while using a Katana. Itachi had also been able to teach her three new Genjutsu, and had promised to teach her more if she wanted more training.

Her opinion of Itachi had changed a fair amount over the past two weeks, after working closely with him, and seeing how he interacted with not only Naruto and Yugao, but with Kakashi who had stopped in randomly a few times, she had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. That had not gone unnoticed by any of her three training partners, and they had agreed to talk to her about Itachi soon.

She also took Yugao's advice, and had spent whatever free time she could talking and getting to know Naruto better. Her heart fluttered slightly as she remembered how Naruto had pretty much forced her to allow him to take her shopping for a weapon after learning what she had taken a liking to. At first she had insisted on getting a cheap sword, but Naruto had told her to put it back, and told her that buying cheap combat gear would only get her killed. He took her to the shop where he had purchased his swords during his time in Anbu, and had her look around. She had eventually chosen a katana with a 17 inch blade, it has a beautiful white and blue handle with a silver start shaped guard, and a white sheath that had a blue dragon wrapped around it. After glancing at the price tag she had put it back, hoping Naruto hadn't seen her take a look at it… unfortunately for her he had, and had then insisted that he buy it for her. Although he had somewhat forced her, she had still never had any man buy her something so exquisite, let alone take her shopping.

She was currently on the last stretch of road leading to the Uzumaki estate when she saw a few Anbu enter Naruto's estate, then shortly after Naruto, Yugao, and Itachi all came out and started heading towards the Hokage tower.

"Naruto-kun!" She yelled, missing the honorific she had added to the end of his name.

Turning at the sound of his name, and filing the use of the honorific away for later reference, Naruto spotted Kurenai jogging towards them.

"Yes Kurenai-san?" Naruto asked.

"Where are you three going? Today is supposed to be my last training day isn't it?" Kurenai asked as she stopped in front of the trio.

"It was yes, but something important has come up and Tsunade has asked for my assistance. Your two week training session if complete Kurenai, I am impressed that you managed to complete it, and am proud of the amount that you have grown." Naruto said, earning a slight blush from the red eyed beauty.

"T-thank you." Kurenai said. "What now though?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"There is so much more for me to improve on… Itachi has already agreed to helping me train more in Genjutsu, but what about you and Yugao? Will you still train me if you have the time?" Kurenai asked, making Naruto glance at Itachi quickly before shrugging his shoulders.

"You survived the two week training period that I set up for you. The training from this point will be harder. If you want to train you are free to come and go as you please, I have already made it so that you can enter my estate whenever you choose. We have made training scrolls for you and set them up in my library for you to take a look at whenever you please, I can oversee your training personally whenever I am not away on a mission, and I'm sure Yugao-chan would be happy to keep training you as well." Naruto said, earning a smile and a nod from Yugao as well.

"Thank you." Kurenai said with a slight bow, earning a sheepish grin from Naruto.

"Don't mention it, any friend of Yugao-chan is a friend of mine." He replied.

"We should go, Naruto-kun." Yugao said, earning the blondes attention. "From what the Anbu told us this mission is fairly important."

"Right." Naruto said, before turning back to Kurenai one last time. "Please come to my estate when we return from this mission, there is a lot that Itachi wants to talk to you about."

Nodding her head, Kurenai glanced at Itachi questioningly, but before she could ask, the trio disappeared, leaving Kurenai alone in the street. Sighing to herself, she figured she would go look for her old team and see what they had been up to over the past two weeks.

**-In Tsunade's Office-**

"You called for us Tsunade-sama?" Naruto said as he entered the room, followed by Itachi and Yugao.

"Yes I did, tell me… did you know that there is a surviving Uzumaki clan member?" Tsunade asked, watching as Naruto's eyes grew wide. "I'll take that as a no… Jiraiya's spy network has learned that you are not the last Uzumaki… there is one left… currently working for my old teammate Orochimaru."

**And that's a wrap, sorry about the LONG LONG wait, and the few times I lied about getting this chapter up. It took me a long time to actually get back into writing this chapter. Now at the start I said there is shit being spoiled in the story, so for anyone who doesn't want spoilers skip to the next line. I've actually got to work in about 9 minutes so be happy I'm taking the time to write this. Also, I'm contemplating going back and changing Naruto's mask, while I do think the reaper one is badass, a lot of people arnt liking the fact that it's not animal based, so how about a Chimera? Goat on the left, lion on the right, and snake scales right down the middle.. I think that would be pretty cool, not as cool as the reaper one but yea, let me know! **

**Soooo… last Authors note I talked about my displeasure at how things have been being released in both the Manga and new Naruto movie information… while I'm back to say they fucked up again, and ruined it… yet again. How you may ask? By revealing a god damn older SASUKE! Like what the fuck! Why can't Naruto just kill him and be done with it, its bullshit. And it also spoils the end of the Manga because now we know Naruto doesn't kill him, but probably talks him down like he did to Pein. So now I've only got the possibility of a Naru/Hina ending to look forward to, and not the death of the stupid emo Douchebag who wants to start a "Emo Revolution" in the Elemental Nations… like honestly, the way they are releasing information is just killing the Manga…**

**And yea, skip that past shit. Onto some good stuff. My new favorite anime "The Irregular At Magic High" has come to a point that I've been waiting to happen for soooo long… the revelation that Shiba is actually a part of the military… and we see at the end of the newest episode his sister releasing his limiter, and his power flows out of him like crazy, its epic as fuck :D can't wait for tomorrow's new episode, although I wont be able to watch it till after my 30( atleast, according to my supervisor) hour work shift :/.**

**Onto other news, I've got a Naruto/Dark Souls crossover up, so you should all check that out. You don't have to be a fan of dark souls, but it would help, even though I'll try and explain the plotline of the game as best I can during the duration of the story. The new Naruto game also just came out, and its pretty fun, I'm doing a playthrough of it on my YouTube channel, so if that pleases any of you, feel free to check it out, just youtube "ConsoleCraft" or use the link in my profile. I also play a lot of other games, and try to cater to any type of gamer out there, and would appreciate any support you all may give me not only on Fanfiction but YouTube as well. I've got to get going though, need to pick up supper before heading to work, so I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and please review!**


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